Enigma's Revenge
by questiongirl
Summary: My father once told me a simple riddle; I can start a war or end one, I can give you the strength of heroes or leave you powerless, What am I? He said the answer only exists for fools. Jason showed me he was wrong. Jason was the only person who believed I could be good or sane. Now that he's gone...I will start a war, leaving everyone who hurt him powerless and dead. (Sequel)
1. An Escape to Vengeance

The hallways of Arkham weaved in and out, down to the deepest layer of the asylum. A secret wing of the facility, called **R.E.D,** was were the doctors stored the most critically insane or violent inmates. The cells were separated from each other as every room contained nothing but white padded walls. They were sound and escape proof, for only a few elite people had clearance to enter the facility. The patients rooms could be opened for their doctor and the Batman. No one else. Unlike the bright orange jumpsuits given to inmates, these broken brain criminals were given stiff white straight jackets. In the last cell of the hallway, a therapy session was going on. No progress has been made with the special patient in the past 6 months. Mentally, Patient 51497131 had shut down to the world, becoming irrational and confusing to those around her. Patient number 51497131 was one of the most stubborn, and youngest inmates the doctors had to work with.

"It says here you have been in Arkham for 6 months, yet failed to make any progress, may I ask why?"

"Isn't progress the incorrect term on your part Doc? I mean we're all progressing in someway or another, it's a matter of science. In fact, my mind is open enough to progress in such an incompetent cell, while yours is not. Always being told what to do weakens the mind. I can think freely, plan, while yours is clustered with stuff you have to work on or complete, either way we all must be progressing. Both of us would be dead if we weren't progressing in any type of way."

The Doctor sighed in annoyance, "You know what I mean Miss Enigma."

"Enigma, no miss. Don't treat me like I'm some creature and then try to add humanity to my name by including a proper 'Miss'." She scoffed.

"Have you taken your meds today?"

"Why? So you can keep me in a loopy state? So I become the stereotypical image people imagine when you say psych ward inmate, out of it and staring blankly at a wall?" She glared back at the doctor before rolling her eyes. "Pardon, but I seemed to have dropped my pills in my restrainment suit so unless you are willing to release me, I can not take my pills."

"Now Nygma, do not give-"

"It's Enigma, with an E dammit. 6 months and none of you can even get my name correct?"

"Sorry, Enigma..." The doctor scribbled something down on his notepad, he began reviewing her official file.

 _Patient 51497131: Enigma_

 _Alias: N/A_

 _Parentage: The Riddler (Supposive)_

 _Approx Age: 15/16 ?_

 _Eyes: Green Hair: Dark Strawberry Blonde_

 _Diagnosis:_

 _PPD (Paranoid personality disorder)_

 _Schizophrenia_

 _Dependent Personality Disorder_

 _Doctors Notes:_

 _*Refuses to speak about Childhood_

 _*Skilled trickery in the aspect of the mind, highly intelligent_

 _*Do not let her deceive you by playing innocent child card_

 _*Refuses to believe in the major Daddy Issues she has ._

After all the information was the name of each of the doctors and the date they evaluated her. What surprised the doctor was the date of her first evaluation. A black and white blurred photo showed what she looked like as a child, hardly 6 or 7 at the time in his opinion. Another aspect of her file stood out to the Doctor as usual. Her whole life she had only 2 doctors who rotated, but within the past half a year...

"Enigma, Do you find it strange I am your 12th doctor in half a year. Everyone else refuses to work with you for your ' _stubbornness, word twisting and inability to listen and answer questions_ '."

"I am answering their questions, it's not my fault they can't understand an answer when they see one."

The doctor looked unsettled, he tapped his pen rapidly against his clipboard in thought. The sound was starting to get on Enigma's nerves. He finally concluded a way he could respond to the girl, "Did you know your name is on the list for execution?" He obtained no response from Enigma as she just stared back at him. "It is the only thing Arkham knows how to do with patients who are 'unhelpable'."

Enigma knew by the pause in the doctor's voice, it had to be a scare tactic. She would not believe such a thing. For that reason her voice was cocky in its reply, "If that was true the Joker and a lot of us 'criminals' would be dead. You have no authority to take a life, you live by morals, making you weak."

"You're not scared of death?" He looked a little startled.

"I've killed people before, haven't I?" She answered vaguely.

"Not my question." The doctor thought he might have caught something the others did not. He decided to test his hypothesis. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Wishes are hopeless in society, therefore I have no wishes."

His patient avoided the question. He sighed, "I fail to believe that's true"

"Believe what your simple mind may but I know the truth."

"and what truth is that?" The doctor paused, moving closer to the restrained young girl, "What do you know?" She went silent, looking away from him. Her mind drifted away, which had been noted to happen from time to time in evaluations. After a few seconds, her eyes gazed back over to the doctor. He attempted to be kind with the young teen, relaxing his tone of voice. "Enigma, please answer my question...I'm trying to help you."

"YOU'RE TRYING TO SPY ON ME!" She screamed, a tinge of hurt extending from her voice.

"Me?" The doctor tensed up, maybe he misheard her. "Who do you feel is trying to spy on you?"

The young girl paused, she felt this to be a trick question. Her teeth bit down on her lip before the doctor felt a wad of spit on his face."Who do you think dumb ass?! The same person who put me in here!"

The doctor was not following, "Your father?" Her eyes widen with rage and the doctor knew right then and there he had made a huge mistake.

"No-" She snarled, "-you incompetent ninny brain, your boss."

"M-my boss?" The doctor looked startled, backing away from the girl.

"The Batman!" She tried to stand up, "You know the man Mr. Arkham gives our reports to in here?! First he took my father, now he's locked me up as if I was insane myself. Do none of you realize he's trying to keep me locked up in here because I know his secret! I KNOW WHAT HE DID!" Enigma growled, becoming irrational in the doctor's eyes.

"You're blaming the Batman on this?" He questioned the girl, secretly clicking the button on his clipboard for help.

What he did not plan for was Enigma's observation skills. Six months, and twelve doctors could teach a girl a lot. With every doctor she tested Arkham's protocol a little more, than in her time in solitary confinement replayed what she learned in her head, over and over again until she applied it to her plan for escape. 13th was the number. She had everything figured out from the chemical compound in the pills she 'misplaced' and the time it took for the guards to come here. 13. 13 times to figure how to slip her pills down her straight jacket. The morning pills happen to get stuck in the binds of her straight jacket. There acid like composure was perfect because once her saliva hit it, the pills started to erode the material near the main lock. It burned her skin a little, but nothing serious. Her evening pills that disappeared, went down her restrainment suit like she told the doctor. The pills rested up her sleeves. 13 times to figure how every time the guards sensed a patient "irrational" they would only respond by giving them a sleeping agent in the form of a needle. Enigma had more than enough time in 6 months to plan an escape.

"He brought me in, didn't he?" Enigma spoke, staring back at her doctor.

"Yes but for the crimes of-"The doctor backed away to the door, as two guards stormed into her room with a light blue needle. Enigma jerked down as the needle came close to her neck, tearing the partial eroded bind. She used that rip to help herself move slightly, using her momentum along with other laws of physics to get the needle stuck in one of the two guards coming at her. Enigma determined now was the time. Her legs kicked up and wrapped around the second guard's head, placing him in a choke hold. Once he was down, Enigma used her legs to kick up his knife, meant for security purposes. It sliced the side of her neck, for her arms were still incapable of catching it. Enigma winced in pain before grabbing it with her teeth, and cutting herself free of her straight jacket. The young genius grinned, racing out the door. The Doctor had vanished, not good. She kept the knife in hand as she slowly made her way down the hallway.

Her wish to find that imbecile of a Doctor came true as soon as she turned the corner. Enigma was face to face with the doctor stood and squad of men, who held guns. Her hand quickly slid the knife inside the sleeve of her broken straight jacket. Her quick work made sure they had not seen she was armed. The amusing thing was when her doctor stepped forward to try and reason with her, "Enigma, you must calm down. You are not thinking clearly.." He spoke, as if he was concern for her well being. She wanted to laugh when he told her she was not in her right mind. Was he actually serious? Enigma knew better than to buy into that crap. Her acting skills made her appear shaken up, scared as her eyes looked around at all the guns the men had. Enigma knew she would have to play him, which was wise for she was out numbered.

"R-Riddle me this..." She muttered quietly under her breath, the doctor moved closer to her before she stepped back. "How do you define power?" Enigma knew the Doctor would find the riddle to be her 'coping mechanism' with defeat. Well, that is what dumbass Doctor number four tried to explain to her.

The doctor found it best to play like he did not know, wanting to hear how the young girl would answer it in hopes it would give him better insight to help her. "I am afraid, I do not know.."

His hand gently took his patient's as she looked up at the doctor. She rattled off her definition of it with ease, "Power is specifically inclusive to the measurement of Watts, however, in a psychological inference one might confuse power with strength. Let me point out to you power is not strength but more so lack of weakness." She pulled away her hand, acting terrified. The doctor saw this as Enigma coming to a realization of how bad of situation she was in, so he played along. He kept the guards from shooting from her, signaling it was okay. Three lingered behind as he started to walk Enigma back to her cell. "No, you would not understand..." She turned sharply to the doctor. "Consider how you see myself as weak. I'm much smaller than all the inmates here, yet why haven't I died?"

The doctor tried to comfort her, "The security here at Arkham is the finest towards our-"

"Ha" Enigma chuckled, cracking a smile as if what he said was a joke to her. She shook her head no, causing her fraid pigtails at each end to bounced up and down. Enigma stared back into the doctor's eyes, grinning. Her emerald eyes, once bright and filled with curiosity, now looked dead and soulless. "Riddle me this Doc, A man enters the courtyard, presuming he's in charge because he is the strongest. Those with egotistic manner would challenge them if they were also stupid. Ego and pride only gets in the way when one is stupid enough to express it. Expression causes suffering, however, letting someone believe they have authority over someone is the exact fragment of power that I'm speaking of. Let's see if you have learned, who has the most power in this situation, me or you? Keeping in mind you have the ability to let me go free." Her voice sounded more challenging than innocent.

"M-yself?"

"You don't sound so sure of yourself Doc."

She had stopped moving towards the cell. The halt had made the doctor on edge. A bad feeling came over him as he repeated firmly, "Myself."

"Why?"

"I'm older, have a doctorate and power over you in this facility."

"You're a fool!" Enigma scoffed, twitching backwards a bit. She was trying to give him a way out, but no. The doctor was too foolish, too blind to live. "You think you can control me!"

"N-No?"

She took a deep breath before sighing. He was too stupid. Jason would have understood her, he would have hit the doctor and told him to shut the hell up. Her eyes were closed as she thought of this. The doctor was weak to think he was in charge, the smartest knew the ones who had power rarely showed it. In this case E would do such that. She started to cry softly as if something had snapped in her. "Y-You can control me..." Her voice repeated in a quiet manner, her lips trembling with each word. She looked up to see the doctor face to face with her. The male looked concern at the shattered teen. He placed a hand against her shoulder, a silent understanding came between the two of them that she would answer his questions in a obedient manner from now on, or so he thought. He called off the two guards, knowing he could handle the child. Once Enigma saw them turn the corner, she slipped the knife out of her sleeve. "-in your dreams.." She threw him against the opposing wall. Enigma quickly sprinted at him, before used his head as a boost to throwing herself up to the ceiling beams.

Enigma used the panels and beams on the ceiling to make her way into the guards and doctors locker room without being detected by any cameras. She came out, with tinted glasses replacing her green mask and was now armed . Enigma made her way calmly to the control room. Enigma paused for a second, catching a disruption in the pattern. All of Arkham's security were from the same camera brand, not this video camera. Her realization made her smirk, as she took off her glasses in front of one camera. "Hi Bruce, I will be seeing you soon for your sins." She shot the camera, breaking it as she put her glasses back on.

An evil grin came across her face as Enigma tossed the gun, beside her. The alarms wailed off, sirens of Arkham signaling an escaped prisoner. No doubt her doctor had woken up by now. Nonetheless, Enigma was not scared. She could not leave Arkham just yet, besides breaking the bat-camera she wanted to leave Bruce a gift. Four dead doctors later Enigma was happy. They were bloody, torn up from her knife work but nothing in comparison with what she had seen. The memory which replayed itself constantly in her mind. Four Bodies, stolen from the control room at Arkham. Four bodies was the perfect number to spell the letter E and use their blood to finish her name.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Enigma yelled in the P.A, hitting the release button. Every criminal, loonie, and psychopath at Arkham became free from their cells. A perfect distraction. With the guards occupied, Enigma headed straight for the laundry area in Arkham. Moving through the ceiling panels because that was the fastest and easiest way for her to move around undetected. She dropped down at the end of the hallway, near the laundry shoot. Her thin and frail size would be plenty for her to fit through it.

"FREEZE!" The familiar voice yelled from behind her, Enigma knew it was that damn Doctor. His head was a bloody mess, and he looked shaken as he held a taser out in front of her. "Calling all back up, I need back up, I found her." The lines were chaotic because so many criminals were breaking out at once, no response came for the doctor.

"Awe that's cute, but Doc you're not gonna tase me." Enigma laughed, placing her hands in the air. One hand still had a firm hold on the knife.

"And why is that?"

"Because I brought a knife."

"Huh?" The doctor spoken in utter confusion. He charged the taser, and was not going to risk it by not tasering her the moment it was ready to fire.

"I brought a knife to a taser fight." Enigma laughed fearlessly at his stupidity. She had no reason to be scared. Really, what did she have to lose? "Riddle me this, how do they get water from one area in Arkham to another?" Her eyes gazed above his head. Enigma chucked her knife as hard as she could into the pipe. _Creak._ The Doctor was about to tase her when the pipe gushed open from the hole left from her knife. Funny thing when you mix electricity and water, it makes Doctor's light up blue and orange. Enigma was for sure he would die of electrocution. The water was moving close to her so she quickly slipped out through the laundry shoot. "Idiots"


	2. Remembrance

_His memory haunts me..._

Everything, and anyone I ever loved has been taken. My friendship with Kane laid shattered with mistrust and envy. The relationship I once held with my dad appeared to be forever broken, while the love of my life is lying 6 feet under Gotham.

Sometimes when I close my eyes, I feel the fire of hell blazing against the side of my face like it did that night. Let me warn you how a photographic memory is no blessing. I can recall every detail of Jason's final hours. The warehouse, the fire, my voice lost in the sound of crackles and tiny explosions as a horrified shriek escaped trembling lips. It was clearly imprinted in my mind. Helpless, I watched Batman emerge with Jason. Any flicker of hope left my heart to see he was already dead. His body was burnt, beaten, a horrifying sight that made me sick to my stomach. Any emotion I felt for Jason and his death soon had to be locked away within me. Everyone knows in Gotham it would be weakness for a villian like myself to show a sign of emotion. Bruce kept his promise that night. Less then an hour afterwords he came for me.

Riddle me this, How does one know they are a disgusting human being, a monster?

Answer: When the Batman comes for you instead of the murdering clown.

I went straight to Arkham, missing his funeral and any chance to mend broke relationships. Did Bruce really believe I was the one responsible for his death? Maybe I was...I lower my head, thinking about it. I wonder if Bruce was right to lock me up. Sometimes at Arkham, in the silence of my cell, I would ponder to myself who I hated the most. The three contenders were, the Batman, the Joker, or myself. The correct answer always ended up as a three way tie. It killed me inside that after all my training, everything I've learned and my high level of intellect, I still failed to save the one I fell in love with.

"It is my fault Jason is dead. I WAS SO STUPID! That's what kills me! Jason was so focused in trying to save me from the life I lived, I NEVER thought of the danger I was putting him in..."

No one would know nor understand the feelings I felt for Jason. You know what how hard it is to keep all my memories of him and emotions I felt inside. The challenge began to drive me to the edge of insanity many weeks ago. I was aware that what I locked away was too dangerous for my sanity and pose to let out. "I am a villain dammit! I shouldn't feel this way! " I pause, glaring at the dead body I was talking to. He was the cab driver who helped me get into the city from Arkham. A cold chill went down my spine as his face paled. My hand began to twitch, leading me to drop the knife. Slowly, I ran a hand through my hair, which had become so coarse over my time at Arkham. I sprinted out of the cab because the now was not right time for me to go into hiding. Eventually I would, but not yet. I had one more thing left to do tonight.

The familiarity of the place made my stomach turn as I approached the alley way. Memories from 6 months ago flashed before my eyes as I walked towards a tarnished wall of the abandon apartment building.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Sirens whistling in her ears, a flustered and cold Enigma caught Jason's body alone for a second. Batman had returned back to the batmobile. The closer she got, the more her hands trembled. Enigma could not bring herself to look at Jason's face. In one swift movement she stole his cape and ran. From behind her she heard Brucie's voice call out in a scolding tone. Her legs moved faster with each word, wanting to get as far away from Jason and the Batman. She knew at the time her emotions were wild, and would not be capable of being arrested beside his body. It would be too painful. Enigma knew she did not have long until the Batman would come and arrest her, so she hid his cape where she deemed it to be safe._

 _"Right...about...Here." With a gentle touch I pulled a stone out of the side of the old building. Behind the brick was faded black and gold fabric. The cape was tattered, and covered in ash as I pulled it out of the wall. My hand ran along the seam of the material, the last thing I had of Jason. I wrapped the cape around me, for warmth and to keep my Arkham uniform hidden. A faint smell hit me, which I recognized. Aside from the smell of fire, the scent remin_ d me of Jason. His faint oder created a sad sort of smile on my face as I headed toward my new home.


	3. Graceland

My new hideout was nothing more than a memory from my childhood. The place, once called a second home, was founded when my friend Rose and I were around 6 or 7 years old. At that time, we had murdered the owners of the place; therefore, it only needed a little fixing up. Soon enough, Kane joined our little project, and the apartment became what the three of us referred to as our Graceland.

In the past, when we all got along, Graceland was a place where none of us had to be scared of abuse, kidnapping or stress. Sometimes it was even a home for me, along with Rose and Kane. A shelter as we would hide from our lives, the authorizes, and at times, our parents, in the little apartment. There was a kitchen connected to the living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Graceland was not a bad set up when we were all still friends and got along.

The door creaked slowly as I turned the rusty handle. Darkness made it impossible to see most of the apartment. I doubt there was any electricity in the place, as none of us usually paid for anything. I turned on my phone light to see a cloud of grey dust covering everything in the apartment. "Oh boy." I sigh, realizing how much work I have in front of me. Maybe I could threaten some civilian to clean the place up for me. Hmm, that would require me to kill them in fear they would give away my location to the authorities. I decided to think about that later as I closed the door behind me. The movement from the door closing sent dust in my face, making me cough. "Fuck." I run to the window, opening it wide for some fresh air. The moonlight from the window helped bring in more lighting, which revealed a lot more tarnished looking home then I last remembered. "It's gonna be a long night." I sigh, leaning back on the window sill.

Our home looked abandoned, as if untouched for a few years. Decks of cards were still spread out across the table. They were Kane's from when he insisted on learning magic tricks. The burn marks on the edges of the kitchen table, those were my doing. He failed to mention to me how the cards could ignite upon picking them up a certain way. Due to that and one other incident, Kane does not use many magic tricks in his work. A couple weeks into pursuing this hobby of his an "accident" occurred involving Rose's plants. The drama led to an immediate cease of his annoying magic tricks. I would never admit to knowing something about this accident, considering neither of them ever expected foul play.

Across from the table, Rose's plants were aligned beside the main window. She would be pissed if she found them in the state they were left. Her plants were withered, warped, an awful dark brown color. I am not a plant expert, but even I knew they were dead.

Of course I contributed to the mess too, it wasn't all just Rose's plants and Kane's toys. My half created inventions were sprinkled throughout the house and rotting away. The metal gadgets had been left near an open window, which over the course of a few years left them rusty. I doubt any of them actually functioned anymore. In the corner of the room there was a pile of my failed machines and some extra parts. Let's just say being a mechanical genius did not always come naturally to me. I move towards the pile, picking up what my 5 year old self would call a blinding ball. I sigh, shaking my head in disbelief. The blinding ball was the first of many failed gadgets I tried to make at the start of my villain legacy. The ball was supposed to shoot out lasers randomly at your enemy. I laugh, remembering the time when Kane found it.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Kane had just returned from a heist on his own. He was cranky because it did not go the way he wanted it to. Tired and hungry, he didn't have time to deal with all of Enigma's inventions that were cluttering his table._

 _"And she says I'm the messy one." The little boy groans, before having a sly idea. He would show her, but first..._

 _"Em, you need to stop leaving your crap all over the place!" Kane called out, hoping she would fail to reply. If she did not answer within a minute or two he would set his plan into action. One minute, two minutes, going on three and still no smart ass answer. Kane decided that meant he could mess with her. His plan was to hide all her projects, and when she wanted to find them, make her beg him for his help. An evil smirk came across Kane's face, laughing as he started to clean up her mess._

 _Overall, his plan was not really a wise one, considering how Enigma's toys were mostly weapons. When his hand reached down to grab the ball, lasers shot off at him. Kane shrieked, diving back to the couch as lasers fired off in all directions. "E!" He screamed in frustration with the girl._

 _Once the lasers stopped, Kane smelt something burning. His eyes went wide. Immediately, Kane sprang up from the couch, running to the sink. Kane never admitted to touching the blinding ball that day, but it was hard for Enigma and Rose not to have figured out what really happened. Not only was the Enigma obsessed with video surveillance at that time, but Kane had an 'unusual' style haircut for the following month. The lasers had burned off a bit of his shaggy hair making it uneven, and totally tease-able. On bright side Kane never touched Enigma's stuff again without asking._

The old memory almost brought a smile to my face until the wave of guilt consumed me. What was I doing? I needed to focus on planning, not laughing at the past. Kane is a traitor, not some friend. I threw all of my old inventions into a box, placing it in the closet. Hopefully with them out of the way I could focus on what I came here to do, Revenge.

Why did there have to be so many memories that came along with this place. I shake my head in frustration, slowly calming down. The truth was Graceland was all I had left. My old home, the place my dad set up last year, I could guarantee that Bruce had his eye on it from the moment he heard Enigma escaped Arkham. My father would be no help to me, even if I could face him again. I had no choice but to use the only place left I had access to. I pull a first aid kit out from underneath the couch, using it to patch any bruises from my escape before settling down to get to work.

"I hope my old laptop is somewhere around here.." I mutter softly, typing into news reports and hacking into the Gotham City Police files. The internet was the only way I could update myself on what happened in the last 6 months. Wow, the fact I was gone that long was mesmerizing to me.

The first search I did was on my real name. I was curious to see if Bruce kept my identity a secret or not. It was to my relief and pleasure Emily Nashton was nothing more than a missing person's case, shockingly reported by Commissioner Gordon. Strangely, the old man was a decent person. I was less shocked to find the file buried deep in the GCPD servers. It most certainly was not active due to a mysterious grant by the Wayne foundation. His money probably is what kept my case closed for investigation. Maybe that was a good thing, I sigh, shaking my head. I would rather people believe that, then everyone knowing Emily was Enigma.

What else was new since I entered Arkham? I clicked on a link, trying to find the latest news but from what I could tell not much had changed. A new hero appeared in Gotham about a week ago. He appeared to be another Batman, his face masked and wore some black and blue suit. Kane's empire continued to grow in the western part of Gotham city. No surprise considering what a suck up he is to both my father and that ass of a clown. Speaking of my old man, he must of been lying low for there were no information on him. Let's see what else was in the recent news column. Uncle Johnny locked away in Arkham due to a fear shipment bust, Batman and Robin stopped Hush from-wait Batman and-ROBIN! Hold the fuck up.

I clicked on the title to the full news clip labeled 'Batman and Robin at it Again'. What did my eyes see? Nothing but a recent photo of Bruce Wayne WITH A NEW FUCKIN ROBIN! That was not right, it wasn't moral. How could Bruce do this Jason! The image fueled my rage even more as I chucked the computer into the wall. The crash made a loud noise, shattering my computer screen completely. "Dammit!" I flipped the table, before crumbling to the floor. The anger inside me hurt so badly, it made me feel as I was about to explode. "I'm gonna kill him...I'm gonna kill that bastard...it's his fault! It's the simple minded, imbecile fool of a bat brain's fault Jason is dead." No tears fell from my face, even in private I told myself I had too much dignity to cry over some boy.

The light from the midnight moon twinkled against my knife, calling out to me. Things needed to change, I needed to change. Last time I tried to be normal, a good citizen, and failed miserable. Not this time. Everyone believes me to be a monster, a girl grown up purely evil. Maybe Jason was wrong about who I was destined to be. He was the only one that saw something good in me and look how far that got him.

I reached out for the blade, pulling it closer to my face. The knife was sharp, covered in a distinct layer of blood."They want me to be the villain.." My voice trails off as a I wipe the blood onto my tattered Arkham uniform. "Wait until they see-" In one quick motion I swiped the blade against the ends of my strawberry blonde curls, cutting my wet hair in half. I continued cutting my hair until it rested slightly above my shoulders."I-I'll show those incomparable idiots!"

 _Creak._

My head snapped around in a matter of seconds, hearing the breach in security. The knife in my hand flew through the air, headed straight for the light switch. A loud gasp broke the silence, as the lights snapped on. "E?!"

The lights allowed a familiar face to show itself. No wonder the security failed to go off, there was no real intruder.

"R-achel?" I say softly, confused to why she would be here. Rachel Isley, a.k.a Rose, was none other than the daughter of Poison Ivy. Although her appearance resembled her mother's with long red hair and green eyes, she was a lot more level headed. Despite my hatred for her mother, growing up Rachel and I were what some would call friends. I would say the two of us made a pretty dangerous duo up until a few years ago. It was honestly a shock to me that she decided to leave Gotham for a city called Blüdhaven for no reason. Well, that was not completely fair to Rose. She might of had a reason. I was just mad that she left me stuck to deal with both Kane and my dad on my own. "Rachel!" I ran to hug my old friend. "What are you doing in town? I thought you moved away?"

"Trying not to get killed by your knife.." Rose groaned with a sarcastic manner to her voice. Luckily for her she moved her hand away from the light switch just in time. Her expression turned into a smile as she hugged her friend back, cautiously. Rose knew it was suspicious to find her here for two reasons. She remembered a rumour hearing Enigma had left Gotham a while ago. "I thought you did too."

I shook my head no, "Couldn't stay away." A little resentment remained in my voice. If I had stayed away, Jason would be alive right now. "I guess Gotham just has some pull to it."

"Yes but why come back to this ratty old place, I'm sure your dad would set you up-" Rose paused catching something in Enigma's expression. A look she had seen in her friend's eyes enough times to know not to go down that road, instead her head tilted seeing the pieces of hair on the carpet of the bedroom. Rose looked over at Em perplexed.

"A little haircut, don't worry I'll clean it up." I reassured her, heading back to the pile of hair.

"Seems like something no one's done around here in a long time." Rose judged by the dusty and tattered safe house. She walked around the living room to look taking a good look at our old place. Lucky for me she did not catch site of Jason's cape, which was beside the pile of my hair. My foot pushed aside Jason's cape underneath the bed as I went to stand from cleaning the hair up. Although the cape was tattered and torn, it was still recognizable. Rose and I both fought Robin many times, the last thing I needed was her to find his cape in my place. Rachel blew on the couch to make her point about the house not being clean, sending clouds of dust bunnies into the air with one simple breath. It made her look hesitant before sitting down. "I knew you and Kane were too lazy to actually keep up this place."

"Hey I'm not lazy! I've been in Arkham-" I motioned to my outfit, which was still that awful orange jumpsuit, "- and no one would let me build a robot to do the chores so we're stuck with this mess." I paced the room because something did not seem right. For instance the questionable way Rachel was acting. Why would she come back here to Graceland? Her mom and her did not fight, so she had a place to live. One could argue she came back to find me, but if so why did she not try my lair to find me, or a hideout I used more recently. None of us used Graceland.

Rose's phone went off, which caught my attention. She glanced at me before typing out a short message and hitting send. Who was Rose's texting? The only person she got along with that had a phone was me and hardly Kane. Could she be texting Kane? Spying on me for him? I wondered to myself, which might have been obvious to Rose because she gave me a look. "Okay, something's bothering you. What is it E?"

Rachel knew me well, she knew my lying tactics and I did not want to use them on her. For that reason I decided to do something I rarely do, just ask her what was on my mine. Maybe a direct confrontation would give me a clue to what she's up to. "What are you really doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Rose slide her phone into her pocket, but I could see it light up again. Out of instinct, Rose's hand twitched to answer it but she stopped herself.

"I mean you and your mother get along, none of us have obviously been here in years, why not stay where you normally do?"

"Who says I'm staying in this dump?"

"Why else would you be here?"

"I needed something."

"What?"

She paused, which was all I needed to know she was a lying."Ha! I knew it! Why are you really here?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Rachel said with a sigh. I look down, debating whether I should push for more information. The situation itself was a little awkward, Rose never kept secrets from me. At least none that I knew of.

" You know I am a curious person so tell me." I cross my arms, giving her a small annoyed look before an idea hit me. I smirk, "Or!- I could just hack into your phone and see who you're texting. It would only take a couple seconds." I made a motion to my laptop in hopes that the pressure of me finding out on her own will make her reconsider telling me or give in.

"E! Wait!" I was almost to my laptop when I heard her speak up. I backed away, pulling myself up on the kitchen counter to sit.

"I'm listening, so who is it?" I smirk seeing Rachel grumbled.

She bite her lip nervously, "It's just a friend I met from Bludhaven. He was going to stop by,"

"Really, You would allow some stranger to enter our safe house?" A part of me felt betrayed, I needed this place to be safe. I could not just have some idiot civilian walking in. It would jeopardize everything, including my identity. "Boys aren't some species you can trust, Rachel."

"E, I- we," She fumbled through her words before correcting herself. "We can trust him, not that I would invite him over now. The only reason I was using Graceland was because I thought this place was abandoned."

"We are criminals Rach, we can't trust anyone." I folded my arms across my chest. Usually, Rachel had good instincts about people, none of this made any sense. Why was some stranger meeting up with her? "Why is he so important to you, couldn't you meet him at your mother's place?"

"because.." A sigh escaped her lips before her eyes fell to the floor. "He's my boyfriend. "

A sick feeling hit my stomach, hearing my best friend had a boyfriend. The fact made me feel nauseous. I immediately regretted forcing Rose to tell her secret for obvious reasons. Yes, she is my friend and yes, I am supposed to be happy for Rachel but, I couldn't be. In my silence, I see her phone light up again. An overwhelming amount of jealousy came over me for that had to be him, her stupid boyfriend. For a split second, my mind wandered off in a daydream where I went over to her phone and chucked it against the wall, shattering the phone into a millionaire pieces.

"That's great Rachel!" I fake a smile, trying to be happy for her. Sadly, I could not put any of the blame on Rachel. I was the one who forced her to confess. Not to mention she had no clue about what had happened in these past few months involving Jason, my dad or Bruce. Now I know what the voices in my head are saying, fighting me with their awful arguments. ' _But she's your friend, you can trust her_.' Really, like I trusted Kane? Can I just point out she tried to lie to me ten seconds ago. ' _She'll understand, you need to talk to someone._ ' Wait, that was not some voice...when the hell did my concious come into play? Get the hell out of my mind! Even if I did trust Rose, telling her about what happened was too embarrassing, or more so painful to repeat out loud. Although I doubt she would even believe me if I told her. I mean me, the Riddler's daughter, date a Robin? She would either laugh in my face or test me for drugs. I look up to see Rachel staring at me funny. I hug her, trying to act happy for her perfect life so this uncomfortable situation would ease for the both of us. "So who is he? Anyone I would know or is it some hot shot from Bludhaven?"

"You could say that." Rachel spoke with a little smirk on her face, which I did not understand. It was okay though, I was not in the mood to ask her any more question.

Rachel went to answer her phone. It suddenly made sense to why she would come here, instead of going straight home. Her mother, Poison Ivy, had issues with keeping her hands off the male race, and the same went for men around her. She lured everyone of them in close, using their strange attraction to her plant pheromones or whatever. About an hour or so afterwards, the same man would be found poisoned somewhere in Gotham. Their death supported my theory about the male race having increasingly smaller brains than us females. I mean what do men expect to happen, when her name literally has poison in it.

Rachel was still on her phone, texting him. For some unknown reason that feeling in my stomach ended up getting worse. "You know what?" I pause to get her attention back on me. "We should go on a heist to celebrate your return! I mean, neither of us have been out in a while."

Alright it was an abrupt change of topic on my part, but let's face it neither one of us wanted to go into more deals about her relationship. Actually, Rachel was lucky. Most best friend's would be a burden by begging for the details like who is he, what does he do, does he know you're a wanted felon. I was helping her out by not asking anything that would invade her privacy. The relationship questions would lead to us both wasting our time on her talking about their lovey dovey bullshit, and how happy she was. A heist was the perfect solution because it would feel like old times, before Jason. Anyways, stealing always made me feel better.

"Well I did see the Natural History Museum had a grand display delivered earlier. My guess is it hasn't reached the vaults yet."

"Perfect, we hit the place tonight and we're golden." I smirk, making sure the conversation about our plan ended quickly. We would not want to be stuck indoors planning all night. What if some visitor stopped by to distract Rachel? I headed for the door in need of fresh air as soon as possible. "Let's go I call driving!"

"Um E?" Rose gave me a funny look. I freeze, wondering what she figured out. Did she see Jason's cape? Could she tell I was mad, maybe it was how I was acting? I felt a rush of panic as I turned to look at her.

"Y-es?" I try to play it off, looking back with a smile.

"You're still in your Arkham jumpsuit." She motioned to my outfit, where I still wore my dreadful, bloody and tattered asylum uniform.

"Oh, Yeah!" I hurried over to the closet, searching for my backup Enigma suit. It was about time I got out of these rags.


	4. Enigma Vs Not Jason

**~Robin~**

Night had fallen upon the dark city streets of Gotham. In the new Robin's perspective it appeared to be a typical day on patrol. Batman decided to take the quadrant nearest to Arkham, in hopes he could find their most recent escapee. Therefore, I was left to guard the northern part of the city. My location was about 5 miles out from the border with a great view of Wayne Enterprises. I sat perched across the street holding bat-noculars up to my eyes. Honestly, I don't care if I was stationed at the most boring post he had. Overall, I was just glad that Batman finally trusted me to be on patrol alone. The night was boring until 1 am when several calls came in from my police scanner. The first one was about finding an empty vault on West 5th Street. As I attempted to hear more about the heist, another police squad called in over top of it. This time the confusion was over how one of Joker's warehouses exploded. Out of the two, that sounded the most suspicious to me. I decided to go check out the scene, when a shadow caught my eye. To my surprise, I noticed two silhouettes approaching the back entrance of Wayne Enterprises. I glide off the rooftop where my post was located in hopes for a better view of what was happening. No one should be near here this late at night, especially not teenage girls. I opened my mouth to warn them before realizing I had to call this in. Gotham was dangerous, but you should not underestimate anyone in Gotham. Protocol always came first, besides I've seen a wooden puppet get violent. "Batman we've got two unidentified girls entering the premises of Wayne Enterprise." I spoke into my com.

A small pause came from the other side, before his deep voice responded. "Follow them Robin but do not engage until identified."

"Copy that." I glide off, falling into the shadows. Darkness would be able to hide me as I followed the two girls. I kept a safe distance, lingering behind in order not to be seen. I began to get the sense the two girls were bad news as I watched them. For starters, the girl with bright orange pigtails broke through Wayne Enterprises security in a matter of seconds. The light hit her, allowing me to make out a green question mark on her black tank top. The question mark gave her alliance to the Riddler away. I was shocked to find, that even with all the security Bruce-I mean Batman- put in place, the Riddle girl moved from floor to floor of the building with an ease about her. She moved faster than anyone I knew, including himself. _What were they up to?_ Riddle girl and her accomplice were making a beeline for the tech laboratories. Luckily, I do not think 's friend, Mr. Fox, was in the building.

In my further analysis of the two girls, the accomplice appeared to be a Poison Ivy wanna be. She was dressed in a similar outfit, giving a hippy nature vibe. The only real difference was her look, which appeared to be younger and less revealing than something the real Ivy would wear. Fake Poison Ivy stood beside a table, talking quietly to her friend. Her riddle friend sat on the edge of the lab table dangling her feet about. Riddles laughed at what Fake Ivy said, but continued to type away on her computer. I was too far to hear them. I had to find a way to get closer. Vines were destroying most of the other equipment in the lab as the Riddle girl stayed focused on her laptop. The two would talk from time to time, but every time it would end with the Riddler girl shaking her head no. The room was looking more and more like a jungle, most certainly the nature girl's doing. I wonder, if she was related to Poison Ivy or another one of 'Mother Nature's' experiments. A vibration followed by a beeping noise on my communicator took my attention away from the two criminals. That was strange, nothing was on it. I look up to see the plant girl was standing alone. _Crap, Where had the other one gone?_ I scan the room with my eyes to find there was no trace of her. My search for her did not take long because I could not stay in the room. Vines, and weird looking plants erupted around me. I made a break for the hallway, not wanting to risk touching something poisonous. The hallway was where I decided to notify the Batman of what was happening and what my detective work found. I click the com again, "Does a Poison Ivy wanna be ring a bell Sir?" I could see on my locater Batman was still on the other side of Gotham.

"Rose." He was never one for long replies, I'd give him that. No explanation or anything.

"How about a Riddle girl?" I say, moving down the hallway in search of where she would have gone. For a second I thought that maybe Bru-Batman would finally let me take on a criminal on my own. I mean, they were just some wanna bee's maybe a little older than me, and girls at that. I'm pretty sure I could handle some teenage girl myself. "However, let me note she does not look like the others in the Riddler's gang, a lot younger then Echo or Query."

"Enigma." The tone he used was not one I had heard before. He sounded mostly angry compared to his usual monotone response. The only other person I heard his voice change for would be the Joker. However, that was understandable considering what he had done to Barbara and Jason. What could such a tiny girl do to piss the Batman off? Bruce's voice broke my train of thought, "I'm not too far away, do not engage until I or back up arrives. Understand."

"Yes Sir." Not willing to lose my cape by disobeying him, I stay hidden in the shadows. Maybe I should follow this Rose character more. She, like Enigma, was already covered in blood from head to toe. I wondered if her and Enigma were the ones who pulled off the other crimes. The theory may seem far off but the times would align. Although the police called them all in at once, I still could have prove my theory true. Let's see, Police Scanner clocked the call in at 1:05. From experience going at a fast pace, speeding about 5-10 miles over the speed limit, means it takes 20 minutes to get there from Wayne Enterprises. I am assuming they were going 5-10 miles over the speed limit, because that would be a smart thing for these criminals to do. Fast enough to get away before the cops, but slow enough not to look unusual or get pulled over. No, that still doesn't prove it. Wait, if the call came in at 1:05, it means the fire had to have started sooner. It takes at least 5 minutes for the police to get on the scene. Yet, the girls would not have stayed there to watch the explosives. Firefly, maybe, but I am assuming these girls are smart. I am basing that off the premise I had never seen them around Gotham nor caught them pulling a crime yet in my time as Robin. Sure, they could be rookies. Yet, rookies do not pull off a heist so perfectly nor would Batman sound so pissed about them. All that leaves is the Bank heist to connect to the girls, which is simple. No one discovered the bank to be empty until another petty criminal tripped the alarm, locking himself in the vault.

Perfect, I had the whole theory solved. There was just one thing that did not fit. Why would these girls try to blow up the Joker's warehouse? It was a death wish, or could even start a war if either were caught. I pause, noticing that the Rose girl had a mischievous little smile on her face as she turned around. I could swear... _was she was looking straight at me?_

Out of nowhere I felt a knife slam through my shoulder, I spin around to see the source of the knife only to receive a hard punch to the face. Blood flew out of my mouth as I went fell back against the wall. The Riddle girl stood over me with a taunting smirk, "Where's the Bat?" I groggily tried to get up when she put her sharp heel of her foot against my chest. Ugh, What happened to the Riddler theme? The tone of her voice was something awfully annoying. It was such a sharp and cocky tone, I doubt her father could even stand listening to it. "Wow, don't you really suck as a Robin? Not even gonna try to fight me?" Her foot pressed harder against my chest, I started to think of a way out as she continued to monologue me with questions. "What happened to the saying the third time's the charm?" That's it, my batarang. My eyes focused on her, remaining silent as I slowly reached for my batarang. Enigma had anticipated my movement, grabbed my hand and twisting it back with a loud crack.

She gave an over exaggerated sigh, "Same old tricks." Enigma shook her head. " I would have thought you boys were robots. But considering the painful expression on your face right now, I can see you're sadly a pathetic and foolish human version of Robin." My vision started to fade out as pulled the knife out of my shoulder, holding it onto my throat.

 _ **~Enigma~**_

My hands dripped with the new Robin's blood. I wanted, no, needed it to make me feel better. I grin, looking down at the pathetic Robin impostor. He was nothing compared to Jason's legacy. It was an insult that Bruce replaced him in the first place. Now, I had the fake Robin right where I wanted, in an unconscious state of course.

Rose stood by my side, surprised, considering I did not mess around or annoy Boy Wonder as much as I would usually do. In the past there would be taunting, puzzles and games but not today. I learned 6 months ago the game would always be rigged. I brought my knife right above his heart, ready to plunge it into his chest for the kill. My emerald eyes focused on Robin's face, watching as the blood trickled down from his mouth. An image of Jason in his bloody Robin mask flickered before my eyes, making me hesitate. I blink twice, thinking I have officially lost it. I shake my head, finding my grip again to go and finish Robin. My hand trembled as the urge to kill started to disappear. Every time I looked down I pictured Jason behind the cowl, his blue eyes pleading with me not to do it.

Pissed at myself for the weakness I snarl at his unconscious body, "You got lucky". I threw the knife aside me, leaving it stabbed into the wall.

"Uh E-" Rose's startled voice alerts me that something is not right. I follow her gaze across the room, inside of a recently broken window. I stare for a second, taking in the view of two silhouettes who were not pleased. Obviously, one of them was the Batman himself. The mystery was the character who stood beside him in a black and blue suit. His appearance reminded me a lot of the Batman costume. If I were to answer my mystery with the simplest form I would say it was Gotham's new vigilante, yet I had no name for him. He appeared to be distracted for a few minor seconds as he looked over to Rose and I.

Batman growled, glaring over at me with hatred, "Enigma."

I smirk smugly, placing my hands on my hips. Ha, like I would care about the self proclaimed protector of Gotham being mad at me. "Batman."

The new hero's focus was still on my ali. He eyed her carefully, "Rose."

Rose stayed leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed. She casually replied, "Nightwing."

It only took me two seconds to figure how Rose knew the hero. She must have had some encounter with this younger version of Batman in Bludhaven. It was obvious, because I could sense history between the two. I roll my eyes, "Glad we wasted time with introductions." I spoke sarcastically of course, allowing myself enough to throw the blinding ball toward the window. I grabbed Rose by the arm, starting to run. We both knew Batman and Nightwing would be on our tails.

"Let's split up." Rose's voice whispered in my ear.

"Smart, I'll run for the roof while you make a break at ground level." I take a sharp left toward the staircase, as she goes right. Running as fast as I could up the steps. He was coming, I heard his cape swishing behind me. The distance between myself and the Batman was closing. The need to make it to the roof, even greater. In sight was the door, only a few steps away. _Come on, Come on._ My legs could not move any faster before a wired rope swirled around my feet. "ooft" I fall backwards, ten steps away from freedom. "Leave me the fuck alone already!" I groan, bending down to untangle my feet. Everyone knew Batman's wire was impossible to cut with a regular knife. No need for me to waste my time trying. Batman was only one set of steps behind me, closing in quickly.

He was silent, not even calling out after me. I threw the rope down at him, making a break for the door.

"I'd leave you alone Enigma, if you stayed where you belong." He growled, as I backed up on to the roof of Wayne Enterprises. The wind had picked up since Rose and I had entered Wayne Enterprises, not to mention how high up I was.

The word belong stuck with me, I was not some animal meant for a cage. I was a genius, like my father before me. He had no right to treat me in such a way, especially since it was his fault, not mine, that Jason was dead. "WHERE I BELONG!?" I growl with anger toward the bat shaped fool. Two bat-a-rangs flew past my head as I dodged them with ease. Angered at what Batman was pulling, I take out two jagged shaped question mark blades. "Where's that exactly? Locked away like my pops!? Oh wait, no I couldn't even be locked away near my own dad because-" I pause, pretending to shrug at the conundrum. "Why again?"

"You were put there because you're not stable, Enigma. You kill, a dangerous threat to Gotham. It worsens when you get overly emotional like-"

"like who? Like Jason!" I growl, slashing my knifes towards his billion dollar face. The fight between the two of us, last for about a few minutes before the Batman knocks me away with a punch to the gut. I fall backwards, hurriedly trying to get on my feet. Why was he so shocked I brought Jason up? He looked pissed at the fact, leaving me to play defense against his attacks. "Oh look, the Bats being judge and fucking Jury again." I quip, not really liking how silent he was. I flipped backwards but my footing was off, I landed near the edge of the roof. "You blame me! Don't you Bats!"

The Batman took note of how close I was to the edge of the roof. A fall from this height would certainly kill me, right? He had me cornered, inching in with caution. To me that meant he was smart enough not to underestimate me. The strangest words came out of his mouth next, ones I most certainly did not understand. "I don't."

"Fuckin' Liar." I roll my eyes, not falling for his tricks. Like hell he did not blame me, even if Joker is taking credit for this crime. "Why lock me up again if I was such a saint?" I mock him with my choice of words and tone.

His tone stayed level, he was almost a foot from me. His left hand went to reach for his cuffs, " You are going to get innocent people killed for your emotions and intrigue to crime."

"The man at fault is that stupid clown!" I throw my first knife at him, he easily dodges it. He made me so frustrated, I felt the blood boiling in my veins. "You let him and his jester get away with everything in this town! YET-Yet you came after me! ME! AS IF I KILLED HIM MYSELF!" I take on step backwards, feeling the edge of the roof. The Batman went silent, which was quite a shock because we all know he was a man of many, many words. How dare that man after ruining my life say that he believed I was not responsible, and still come after me. Did he really think I would believe that he put me there for my own good? Hell, I would rather the Joker kill me too. In annoyance with him, I start to ramble in frustration. "Oh, right, I'm supposed to be the merry Riddler's daughter. Want a brain teaser? Okay, here's a riddle for you Batman." I snide, glaring at him. He made sure not to move toward me anymore, us " _nygma's_ " always had a dangerous twist to our riddles. Batman was preparing himself for it. "Riddle me this, What is replaced in an instant, yet had his own legacy."

I wait a second, no response. Another second, no response.

I force myself to laugh at such a sight, "Bats you are nothing more than a fool, I will be your demise. I will destroy you after I-" My eyes widen, I stop myself from slipping anything of importance. "Oh wait." I add dramatically, before an evil little smirk comes across my face. I could not hide how guilty my brilliant plan made me feel. The thought of what I was going to do to the Batman and The Joker for their sins made me grin. Their brains would be putty in my hand. "Can't give everything away- at least for today Bats." Never could someone tell what expression Batman had under that mask. I longed to see Bruce's face underneath that cowl. "Don't worry, you'll see the end result of my puzzle, Promise. "

"Enigma what are you planning?" He starts to speak up, making a motioned toward me. Big mistake. I flip backwards off the roof. What? My doctor did mention I was a suicidal. No worries, I was just jumping off god knows how many floors of the tallest skyscraper in Gotham. Free falling, I knew Batman would not take the risk to jump after me.

 _Quick Physics: My Weight 108 pounds, rounding down. Acceleration would be coefficient of Gravity so 9.8_

 _108 * 9.8 = Force in Newtons_

 _1,058.4 Alright so now I need to factor in the distance and..._

My hand reaches for my green Enigma belt. I yank about two, maybe three strings half way from falling to my death. Two parachutes release with a question mark on them. Shit, I am not slowing down enough. The height of the building was making me accelerate faster. No, not a time to panic, I pause having an idea. Rocking my hips back and forth, I attempt to tilt to an angle where the wind would catch hold of my device. Bingo! The heavy bursts of wind picked the parachutes up again, floating myself halfway down the street. Sadly I was no closer to the ground.

Of course when I did land, it was not anywhere soft. Gotham rarely had any patches of grass or shrubbery. I ended up hurting my ankle by landing awkwardly on a taxi cab. A cracking noise came from the bone, making me question if I broke it. "Dammit." I mumble, in pain and hardly able to move. I ditched the question mark parachutes in the street, cutting them away. Let that be my dad's problem. I need Rose, maybe she could grow some herb to help with the pain. I break into a building nearby to change into civilian clothes, or as Rose now called them now 'civies'. Must have been some slang she picked up from Bludhaven.

Rose sounded out of breath as she picked up the phone. "Hello?" Her voice sounded strange. Not a tone I recognized.

"Where are you?" I limp towards the closest doorway. Batman was no doubt looking for me.

"E?!" She sounded surprised to hear my voice. "Why?"

I roll my eyes. What has got Rose off her game lately? "Well-" I say, talking her through what usually went on after we ran." Normally we meet up after splitting from Batman and his idiot."

"Oh...Yeah.."She trailed off into silence. Was Rose hiding something from me?

"Anyways, is there a way you can pick me up?" I sigh, leaning up against the wall to rest my foot."I'm not sure if I can make it back to Graceland."

"I'm sorry you have the wrong number.."

"Rose, I know this is you." My eyes roll, amused.

 _Who are you talking to?_

Out of the background, from Rose's side of the phone, came a male voice. His voice was familiar, however, not one I could recognize. I pause, having an idea who he could be. Nonetheless, I was not sure that my theory was right. Mostly, because his voice did not sound mean. Instead his tone had the hint of concern and curiosity.

"Rose, Are you still with Nightwing?"

No answer, which for me explained why she was acting strange.

"Rose." I repeat.

A long pause came from the other end of the phone."W-hy?"

"I heard someone else's voice."

No response was directed toward me. I heard quiet mumbles from the other line. Sadly, I could not make out what was being said.

"Yeah." She spoke plainly, "I can't lose him...I think I won't make it back there tonight."

"Alright." I spoke quickly to save time. I did not want her getting locked up because of my distraction. "No worries, I'll figure out a way home. Stay safe Rach, Bye!"

 **((Sorry I have not updated in forever.** **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Always feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Hmm maybe I can make my apology on here into something interesting, since I took so long with this chapter I shall give you a clue. It's only fair right? Riddle me this, who has green hair, a wicked smile and has yet to appear in Enigma's Revenge? Find out in the next chapter. ~E))**


	5. Eyes of Insanity

The sky lite up a bright orange color as the storm, which terrorized Gotham dragged on. A crack of thunder, a flash of lightning, then the sky return to black. Large, wild, reckless waves crashed down on the docks with no mercy. Not a sound in Gotham could be heard over the voice of the thunderstorm. Except one echo that is. Most mistaken the echo of deep laughter to belong to the storm, however the source was nothing of normality.  
The sound belonged to a boy, whose green spiked hair was slicked back from the rain. Below him was a crippling man, whose blood had pooled around the legs of a jester named Jesse Kane. His eyes gazed down without a hint of remorse for the man trembling in fear and pain.

 _A few moments earlier_

 **~Kane's POV~**

Looking around, I would say there was about a dozen or so of Riddles henchies around me. A mad expression, or emotionless for those who wanted to be tough guys, appeared on all their faces. Oh! So serious, ha, poor souls crack me up when they look like that. "Come on guys, crack a smile you look like you haven't shitted yet." I chuckle, yet they show no amusement. My eye catches as the Riddle goons start to release their pistols from their belt. HA! For people who claim to be so smart they never did learn. "Well I kinda got myself in a pickle here, don't I?" I taunt, keeping a smile on my face. Of course Riddler's men would choose such meek and boring weapons. I mean pistols, Come on! Those were never any fun. Guns require no skill but to click a pre-aimed button. However, a crow bar, knife or even rope. Now that's what I'm talking about. I mean I went through all this trouble to pick a fight with them. At least these nerds could show some respect and make it interesting. Considering that lately, I have often picked fights with the Riddler and his crew, I would think they should at least try to threaten my life. Each barrel of the pistol was aimed directly at me, however, the nerds appeared to be waiting for a signal to fire. "Fire away boys!" I order, giving my best riddler imitation. "Oh wait! Drat! That sounded to happy, and energetic to be guy in the fedora." I laugh at my own joke, yet these guys weren't having it. Figures.

A wide sadistic grin spread across my face. No way would I be scared of the geek squad over there. I knew how the Riddler works, how he runs. One weak chain and I was golden, I tossed the crowbar in air before sliding on my knees. Two bullets grazed past my head. Adeline is a wonderful thing. I felt it running through my veins as I fought back. In no time they dead on the floor, that is with one exception. I caught the crowbar in my hands, running a bloody hand through my hair. "Hi." I wink, looking the last goon up and down. "Look I don't want to get this shirt any more bloody, it's an original. Due to the fact I still want to beat the crap out of you I'm gonna take it off. Got it? I'm not stripping in front of you. Just talking off my shirt, understand? I know your boss might be playing for the same team but I don't want ya to get a banana in there if you know what I mean, dearie."

The bulky goon just stared at me with a blank look on his face. I took my time, keeping an eye on him as I folded my shirt. Without my shirt, all my joker tattoos, gang tattoos, and scars from my work were revealed. Each tattoo I had gotten in the past 6 months stood for something. Most were reminders, lessons, others showcased my power. They were all in black, because it matched the color of my soul. I placed the purple shirt down beside me. Leaving it in one of the few places on the ground not blood red.

I chuckle, "Is blood my color or-" He took a step forever, not buying my game anymore. "Oh well!" I flip backwards, jumping onto his back. For once the Riddler goon was bigger and bulkier then me. I attempt to choke him using the crowbar. He mumbles something, but duh! I was choking him, couldn't really hear a guy when his face is blue.

"You want to hear a punchline blueberry!?" I growl, thrusting the crowbar into the side of Riddler's goon. Considering all henchmen have boring names like Bob or something, I'm just gonna spice it up a little and call him blueberry. "A punchline is the Riddler's daughter! I mean that's what she was, A PUNCHLINE, to everyone. Nothing more, nothing less." The lie escaped my lips as I told myself it once more. I knew that was what I had to keep repeating to myself to continue on. Was my lie working? I could not tell, considering the last few months my strikes on Riddler's men have increased and we were now on the brink of war with the question mark asshole. Maybe he didn't know her? Considering how confused Blueberry looked. I grab Blueberry by his throat, my voice now growling. "She made herself into the joke she was-HAHAAHA! You know what? Look at me, ranting to you on your death bed! Ha! Well I'm beating the shit out of you, cause your a second grade thug." While I spoke I kept swinging the crowbar, showing no mercy. "And you shouldn't become a thug unless ya can hold your own. Where's your brains now!" I hit him again with the crowbar.

I pause for a second in though. Everyone said my mind moved a mile a minute, of randomness, crazy. I didn't really mind that, it made everything so much more exciting. "You know what Blue? It isn't MY fault, I mean it I can't be my fault. I TRIED TO WARN HER! STOP IT I TRIED TO WARN HER!" I beat on Blueberry more and more. He looked more like a strawberry now, dripping and covered in red. My heart rate starts to slow down as I try to calm myself, my crowbar didn't need this kind of damage. It was handed down to me from my wonderful Boss. "Enigma died a fool." I whisper quietly in the almost dead man's ear. "Her suppose genius brain failed her! It's that or-or-OR the damn Bats and Bird, brainwashed her. Richie better be rottin' down there for destroying her like that. Enigma was destined for better things then to die in some petty fire!"I exclaim, sitting on the goons chest. My backhand was kind of getting tired.

The goon wined in pain, making me shake my head. Weakling, Nygma's goons were all weaklings. Except Enigma of course, she could stand on her own. The other henchmen were more like slaves, not thinking for their own self or even capable of how to think. E would be obedient but make all her own plans, which is why I thought E had more potential in her life. I remember a few year ago, thinking one day she'd take the Riddler's place and I would have the Joker's and Gotham would be chaos under us. Well that idea went to shit six months ago, or maybe longer then that. No, it went to shit when she first met Richie.

"Fuck I tried to warn her she was walking into her own grave but no, no one ever takes my word on things. " i smashed my crowbar hard against the ground. In fact with such great strength the metal dented from the impacted. My breath became shallow. "THEY- they are the ones that always think I'm joking!" My bloody Blueberry muttered something underneath me but his jaw was broken so it sounded like a cry in pain. I loved cries in pain, they always make me feel so good about what I do. I take a deep breath, letting Blueberry suffer a little before I finish him off. Slow and painful deaths were always the best.

Looking around, the walls of my new warehouse were painted with blood from the Riddler's goons. The sight made me think about him and what he had done. He destroyed everything, yet I was in debt to the man. I slide a knife out from my belt, "There was a time, I never thought I could hate your boss more-" I twirled the knife underneath the goon's nose. "But all them riddles are-ARE pestering freaks. So concern with ending up with the most complexed and dangerous solution they don't see the OPTION RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM!" My anger slipped from my control as I sliced the goon straight thru the nose into his brain. Why did people have brains who didn't even bother to use them? God, I'm sounding like E herself now. The rage drove me to slice every part of his brain into pieces, laughing viciously as I let my anger out.

From a distance I could here slow, uneven footsteps. My head shot up to see who was trying to get close to me. Not to my surprise, a terrified looking goon of mine came inching forward. He too had a boring name, I think it was Nick or something. See no one remembers boring names. I mean for crying out loud everyone knows at least one person named Nick. I graciously did him a favor, renaming him, Dumbo. Dumbo suited him perfectly, he had big ears and apparently dumb enough to come to me alone.

Dumbo's hands trembled, his heart racing so fast, which actually made me grin hearing him this nervous. Power was a wonderful thing, psychotic, sociopathic power.

"S-Sir-" His voice cracked. The eyes of his widen, looking back at the dead, cut up riddler goon. He took a step back in intimation.

I roll my eyes, getting bored with his fear fast. "Spit it out." I sensed something wrong from the way he was acting. However, it was not rare that someone should be neverous around me. Most of the men were because of my being 2nd in line to the Joker and all. This guy smelled like there was shit his pants he was so scared to talk to me. Good.  
I was practically left in charge of the whole operation at this point. Ever since the Joker disappeared. We all knew he was in some high tech lockup, yet none of us could figure out the location. The Joker disappeared around a month or two after he killed Richie. Usually, that would place all the power on to hot, dangerous, blonde, Harley Quinn. Although, her control only lasted a few weeks. Harley soon became even more crazy in her efforts to look for him. She panicked without the joker by her side, spiraling down in an endless pit of psychotic mess. All the blonde would do, was send out a handful of clowns to look for him. Let me tell you, at times I am convinced she might be crazier then the Joker. Especially when she's without her "puddin" for long. Nonetheless, something good came from these two being away. My time to show Joker why I should stick around, I controlled everything until either one of them returned. Finally my chance  
to make Joker proud. The goons voice meant something was wrong. I didn't like that. Joker would kill me if something went wrong.

"Are-Are warehouse has been hit-"

"WHAT?!" I grab the pathetic goon by the collar. Did he know what this meant? My ass was on the line now. The joker would be not amused to find out a warehouse has been raided. Trust me when I say I don't need another scar.

"A-A Fire sir-"

I start to laugh, trying to make everything seem better. Laughter was supposed to heal, calm me, but it only got louder since I was pissed. The walls carry away my hard laughter, which made the goon even more terrified. Dark, wicked, twisted, I loved the sensation of fear, and pain. It always made me laugh more.

Gross and some what amazing, the man had most definitely shit himself. The smell coming from his pants was really bad now that I was close to him. I smirk, looking into the man's scared brown eyes. His eyes met mine for a second, which made him fall backwards. In my eyes he saw nothing but insanity. My voice lowered, spitting down on his face. "Who did it."

"W-W-e don't know sir." He choked out.

I threw him against the wall. "DON'T TELL ME THAT! WE HAVE CAMERA'S, GUARDS, WATCHING EVERYWHERE!"

I pull out a double edged blade, slicing off Dumbo's arm. No one needed two of those anyways. He winced in pain, backing up closer to the wall. Taking my time, I lick the blood off my sword gently with a vile look in my eyes. "Now I'm a reasonable man, am I not?"

No response.

"I AM A REASONABLE MAN, AM. I. NOT!" I snap, glaring at him with a dangerous look. He started to nod feverishly, reminding me of a bobble head.

"Tell me a story."

"Sir?"

"TELL ME A STORY!"

"Well-I don't-"

"No! NO! That's not how you tell a story!" I place the blade up to his neck, pushing enough to give him more scars. "Once upon a time in the land of Gotham-Go on! GO! TELL ME how THE HELL a fire destroyed our building and no one saw it happen!"

My finger slid down the handle of my knife, clicking a secret button. The metal of the blade started to heat up, glowing a dark red color. Dumbo started to scream as the blade burned into his skin. The knife was a custom made, an old gift from an ex-friend of mine. Always came in handy. "Tell me!"

"O-O-Once-U-pon a time...I guess...uh...Someone hacked into our systems..." He bumbled through his words.

"Impossible!" I chuckle, knowing it was a lie. Our systems were one of the best, and I had the Riddler monitored. He was the only one left in Gotham who could crack them. "Try again dearie." My tongue clicked in his ear like a clock, counting down to his utter date with fate.

The goons eyes widen, in pain and panicked. His neck started to catch on fire from the burn. I could tell he was useless to me. Therefore I did the only reasonable thing, let him burn to death.

Here's the thing, if you wanted anything done right you had to do it yourself in this town.

I grabbed my clean purple shirt and black leather jacket before heading out. A sleek black motorcycle awaited me. It was designed to look exactly like a police officers. Therefore, it did not have Harley and joker symbols fluttering it. As cool as that may be sometimes the best criminal's needed to operate in the shadows. I learned that from E. In the middle of the bike was a iPad like screen and a police scanner.

Who was stupid enough to hit the Joker's Warehouse?

A question that was on my mind, and also the question each of the police scanners were asking. Stupid? Maybe. Yet, if they were stupid they would have left some sign to who they were. Most of Gotham's old time criminal's did that. For reasons I'll never understand. Poison Ivy had plants as her signature, Riddler, his stupid question mark and lastly, Joker left everyone with smiles.

Another police alert caught my attention, making me spin the car around. An girl Riddler sighting, with question mark parachutes. It couldn't be-could it? I switch to the news station, they were replaying a clip from tonight's show. They were giving the weather out in downtown Gotham and in the background of their broadcast you could see a girl jump off Wayne Enterprise. The footage was shaky because of the camera and wind. It starts off with everyone's least favorite reporter, Vickie Vale dragging on about something. Screams broke loose as everyone caught sight of what appeared to be another attempt by a civilian to commit suicide. "Pause." I tell the screen, bringing my footage to a halt. I pull off to the side of the road, delaying my trip to the warehouse. "Zoom in...more...more." I stare at the blurred photo of the jumper. Sure enough it was a girl in Riddler's logo clothing. I knew it couldn't be Echo and Query. They were always together, and a lot taller and bigger then little E.

"Play" My eyes widened, watching her fall. Had she gone mad? I grin at the thought and sure enough at the very last second she pulled a parachute. The camera cut out as the wind started to pick up, carrying her away out of view.

Was this the Enigma I knew, or had her father replaced her? No, if she was dead her father would never belittle her in that sort of fashion. Especially since he hated working with people, children especially. The question remained; if she did not die with Richie, where had Enigma been these past few months? I had to find her. She didn't seem stable. I smile, loving the idea of an unstable E. Usually when E made outbursts in public it meant she was going to pull off something big. Oh what fun! I need to prove she was my E, and not some Enigma copy cat.

Wait a minute...

To view the security feed of tonight all I had to do was click another button on my screen. It was how I kept tabs on all Joker's warehouses. Surprisingly, the goon was correct. They didn't catch sight of the intruder because all our systems did shut down. Oops, oh well I never liked the name Dumbo anyways. Too elephant like, and Disney.

A hunch of mine started, that maybe I knew this hacker before. Only one way to be certain. I could identity the intruder once I looked at the coding signature. A few years back I tried to get into the technical stuff, but it was too much of a bore to me. However, being around hackers enough times, I do know how to do something as easy as reading a signature.

"No way." I start to laugh, overly pleased with what I was finding. I recognized the hacker immediately. Sure enough the last six digits were 364462. HA! How wonderful was that! If you wish to know what that means, all you've got to do is look at an iPhone and Boom! I knew who my intruder was. Only one person had a signature like this. Oh what fun!  
My favorite psychotic little bitch had returned to Gotham. Now all I had to do was find her, and pay her a visit.


	6. The Early Bird

The sun was rising as I settled back into Graceland. An analog clock along the wall read the time to be 4: 07 in the morning. "Geez." I mumble to myself, falling back on to the couch with a plop. Hard to believe it was so early. No doubt about it, my ankle was in bad shape from my skydiving incident the night before. Damn wind, ruining my landing. I breath out slowly, trying to relax myself. There had to be some way I could fall asleep. My eyes fell close for what seemed to be eternity, dreams drifting on about what I was attempting to do. The images moved faster, my mind getting ahead of itself. Everything went by too fast, making my eyes shoot open. I woke up in a panic, eyes glancing around the room. 4:10. No way I was asleep for only three minutes. Stupid clock's were always breaking, I go for my cellphone. 4:11 I groan, tilting my head back in dismay.

The truth was ever since I left Arkham, thoughts from my true mission haunted me. Revenge, vengeance, the drive kept me up all night. Tonight, a new mistake tormented my slumber. He was all I could think about as I closed my eyes. Not Jason, but the other Robin. The replacement who I could have easily killed, yet I stopped myself. Why did I stop myself? The answer was clear, despite my failure to comply with it. He was in my head. His presence was in control of my decisions. Jason, my father, I remain uncertain to whom the 'he' referred to, however it had to be either one of them. Trying to clear my head I gaze out the window, sitting in solemn silence as I watch the rain fall.

Moments later I was distracted with a new thought. Rose had not returned to Graceland. Usually, she would be able to ditch someone with ease, or resort to leaving them hung by roots or vines. What kept her so long?

A faint reflection of the television flickered off the window, catching my attention. Soon my concern for my colleague disappeared for I noticed the blue shimmer. I turned around to look at what the breaking news color meant, Vickie Vale on screen. She stood outside of the horrid place most refer to as Wayne Manor. There was too much light in the background to have been filmed live, therefore it confirmed my suspicion of the broadcast being a pre-taped recording. Duh! What was I thinking, that was obvious. Who would be up at 4 am?

"Big News in Gotham City! A ball is being held by the world renowned billionaire, Bruce Wayne, for the first time in over a year. For most of you know his previous event, ended tragically with the Joker crashing it and a famously rare gem stolen. Mr. Wayne assures his guests that he has no worries about security at this time, and encourages those with invites to attend. He is honoring the return of a familiar face to Gotham, Mr. Richard Grayson. We will be covering the event live for you, our viewers. You have been watching Gotham Night Live, and this has been your head reporter, Vickie Vale, signing off. "

Her report I found rather interesting, I rewinded it twice to double check if what I heard was true. Bruce Wayne seemed to be hosting another ball in honor of the return of his old ward, Richard Grayson. I wondered if he was the first Robin, looked about the right age. Was it concerning or comforting to know that not only was Jason replace, however, he was someone's replacement. Actually, I felt bad for Jason. He meant nothing to Bruce. The man he honored, admired, was willing to fight with, had no respect for him. The worst part is he never realized Bruce just brought him along to fill the gap of some other kid, and when Jason left he was just looking for another replacement of the original. That meant-that meant-Jason meant nothing to him!

The glass in my hands shatters, sending tiny pieces of the glass into my skin. I had not realize how hard I was holding it. I sigh, shaking my head. "That son of a bitch..." I glare at the tv, seeing a clip of Bruce Wayne on the screen. His annoying ass face, I wish I could hit **him** with a crowbar. Bruce had a smile on his face, keeping up his party boy image. I would do anything to knock the smile off his smug face. He was disgusting, and that came from me, a monster in myself. How could he smile with the guilt he should have, the pain, I did not understand. "You'll pay. You'll pay for this dammit!" I yell, throwing the half shattered glass at the television. "Is this a trap? Are you trying to lure me out! You are! Aren't you Bats!" I growl as a warm feeling of blood dripped from my hand. I noticed a small puddle of it onto the floor. I needed to get the glass fragments out of my hand. A simple wrap would stop the blood and take care of my hand. Pain meant nothing to me, so what if my ankle was shattered or my hand was cut. There was honestly no one left who cared, who had my back.

So, Mr. Wayne has challenged me. That was what this event really was about, drawing me out. He wanted me to show up at the ball, he wanted me to take up the challenge with the heightened security. What a fool? Did he really think I would be drawn out of hiding, by the challenge of security. Maybe my father would, but me? I was not that cocky. Sure, in the past I would have taken the bait, knowing he just wanted to arrest me again. I had nothing to lose, no worries about breaking out of Arkham. I could not take the risk, until my revenge was complete... **T** hen again, I love a good challenge. Yeah, I could do it. I will show that Bat. Prove that I could beat him without the help of my father or Jason. I will go to that Party, and escape unharmed. Everyone would see that. My plan will be so detailed, covering every possibility. I will be unstoppable, conquering his challenge. An idea came along, maybe I could use Rose's alias Rachel for the element of surprise. Bruce knew what I looked like out of costume, but not her.

I go for my phone, dialing Rachel's number right away. My heart racing with excitement for the new plan. "Rach! Where are you?"

I heard a tiresome groan on the other hand of the phone, with snoring in the background. The clock read, 4:53 AM. Weird, she must have been asleep. The response from the other side of the phone was a tired and a slightly annoyed Rachel, sounding confused and half asleep. "Who is this?" I figured if she was asleep, she most likely went home after it all. Poison Ivy was in Arkham last I checked, leaving her apartment barren. Geeze, she could have at least given me a call.

"The only girl who has your number and would call at 4 in the morning-Duh!" A long pause came between us. I wonder if she fell asleep, trying to think of the answer to my statement. I roll my eyes, "It's E!" My phone located hers, confirming my suspicion, which was that she was at Ivy's greenhouse. I grab my keys, heading for the door. I needed to talk to her privately, without the risk of someone tapping our phone call.

"E?" A ruffling noise came from the background, maybe she was shuffling out of bed. She still sounded relatively tired, confused to what I meant by E.

"E-nigma! helllooo wake up? I'm on my way over with a brilliant plan if I do say so myself."

"Wait what?!" Her voice got loud, "Over here? Now!" She sounded wide awake, instantly snapping out of her fog. I heard a loud thump in the background.

"What was that?" I ask, catching something suspicious about this phone call. Rachel never responded to my question, so I went on. "Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes..." I pause, wondering if the sound I heard earlier was her snoring. Last I checked, Rachel did not snore. Riddle me this, what would explain the thump and the snoring. I ponder in my pause before adding, "Unless- you have someone over?" My voice trailed off with a hint of accusation.

Who would be sleeping over her and her mom's house? There was only one other person I would consider friends with Rachel, which would be Kane. Although in the past the two never got along. However, considering the distance and lies within the last few month I have come to believe I know nothing about those who I surround myself with. Silence was her response, silence for much too long. It hurt a little. My father told me when I was younger, that the best con men would never let silence go on. Silence was an amauter or unprepared liars game. The longer it went on, the farther the distance between it and the truth were. Rachel was creating a lie no doubt. More insulting than that, was she expected me to believe whatever answer she would decide to give me. So much for being a friend. "No. That was just one of my mother's plants, swayed into the wall."

"Oh...okay" You could never trust anyone in this world, my father's words proving true. Her attempt to use my lack of knowledge on plants was okay. Yet, I knew her answer made as much sense as if I told her 'No, it was just a proton forming an ion by shifting to gears that made the noise' a.k.a bullshit.

"Oh!" Rachel had an idea, it must have just come to her. "E! Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends-" I would never saying yes to something when I did not know the terms of what she wanted. "What is it?"

"Can you grab me some coffee on your way over?"

"But that's all the way across town..." I groan, knowing that would add 15 to 20 minutes to my trip, if I stole a car.

"Or you can wait until 11am when I am fully functional in the morning."

"Fine. See you soon." I say a little annoyed, she was trying to delay my trip. I was sure my friend-or well ali- was hiding something now.

"Bye E-"

Who was she hiding from me? That was the riddle I would love to know the answer to. I hung onto the phone an extra couple seconds as she ended the call. In that time, when she thought I hung up, I could hear whispering noises in the background. The doctors of Arkham called me paranoid, however, I knew someone was there. Everything lead me to believe that. Rachel could make her own coffee, with one of the stolen keurigs I gave her for Christmas. She did not need for me to go 2 blocks out of my way to get it. _Fine_. I think upset. All she did was confirmed what I already knew. I could not trust anyone in this damn town. _Fine_. She wanted to hid information from me, let her try and hid it. I would give her all the time in the world. I will run a few errands, grab breakfast. However, if I catch one thing out of place at her apartment, I swear she will regret being so foolish to lie to me.

 _Hey. Don't worry about waking up too fast, I will pick up a few things for my plan before stopping bye. Get some rest -E_

I sent the text to Rachel, not wanting to go over now. Partially because I know that with what I was trying to do, I could not make any more enemies. Too many people wanted me locked up or dead. Right now, I am giving her a chance to hid it. I do not want to find any evidence that someone was there. I am giving her plenty of time to hide it, because I do not want to freak out on her.

The next three hours I roamed Gotham out of boredom. A few drunken idiots walking around, nothing I could not handle. The sun was rising over dark grey clouds as 7:30 hit. The best part about it being 7:30 in the morning was the bookstore opened. Despite my love for technology, I adored books. They were a wonderful thing to distance yourself from reality. Boy, have I needed that lately. Books let your mind wander, escape your problems, your fears. It always put me to peace when it mattered.

Where I was headed would kill two birds with one stone. The Central Perk, located in the heart of Gotham, served as both a bookstore, and a coffee shop. A favorite to most locals in Gotham, considering they lived long enough to visit it. The landmark was best used by myself as a divider between East Gotham, and West Gotham. Trust me when I say, the place handful when you do not want to end up in the wrong territory. Waiting for her order to be up, I started to wander the different section of books they had out.

My hopes were to find a book that I had not read already amongst the shelves. The thing about having a photographic memory is most books I only read once, if that, before getting bored with them or realizing my genius intellect guessed the ending since page 5.

My eyes fell over a copy of one of my favorite books. The Da-Vinci Code, it made me smile thinking of old times. How I spoke to Jason about the hidden messages in the novel, while hiding the truth serum in my fake copy of it. Stuck in my nostalgic, I did not catch someone coming up from behind me.

"You know he made a sequel of that, right?" A boy spoke, trying to sound smart. He had dark black hair, blue eyes and a red hoodie on. His eyes met mine as I just stared at the kid blankly. Maybe he was a year older, or my age. He looked like a punchable know it all. I blinked twice in silence while he smiled, "Dan Brown right? He also wrote Angels and Demons." His voice alone was annoying, but worst of all he spewed out incorrect facts.

I gave a small nod, acknowledging I heard him. "I know, but I wouldn't call it a sequel." I spoke, turning away from the dweeb. I mean I will admit I was a dork, but this kid looked like a try hard. It made me feel a little like my old self again to diss him. A feeling of superiority, which I really missed. I continued to speak, having to point out to him that he was wrong. "Considering it has a different theme and came out prior to The Da Vinci Code."

"Well..." He stuttered, a little flustered. I started to distance myself from him. He followed along, not catching the hint he should leave me alone. "Did you know there is a movie that's really good that goes with that book too?" He says, following me as I went into another aisle of books. Without hesitating, he adds, "If you want, I have it back home." It now occurred to me what he was trying to do. Oh my gosh was this simple minded brat trying to flirt with me? Whose pathetic enough to try to flirt with someone at 7 in the morning? Ew, haha. No, no I'm not falling for that trap again.

"I know." I state with a small sigh. The boy was an idiot, trying to impress me. It would not work. "But, movies are never as good as the books."

The kid shrugs, "One could say that." He was not giving up as he followed me up to the coffee counter. Is this considered stalking? I wonder to myself before sighing, he was still looking at me. Gross, "Oh, I do not think I caught your name earlier."

"Why should you have, you never asked, nor did I mention it." I reply, watching the Barista take forever with the coffee. I forget during my stay at Arkham how stupid the outside world is. The girl was taking forever for one single cup. Maybe she was one of Doctor Strange's experiment's an was half sloth. Would not surprise me if she was, for crying out loud you work at a coffee shop have some caffeine and get to my order already! Couldn't she see I was being annoyed by some boy. I watched her ring it up at the register. My eyes caught her hands fumbling, and I knew what was about to happen. I opened my mouth to warn her but it was too late. The horrifying sight occurred to me in slow motion as the coffee cup slipped from her hands.

"Oops!" She says, staring at the upside down coffee cup. I groan, as she gives me an apologetic look. "No worries, I will make another right away Miss."

Just when I thought I could get away from the annoying boy. "It's fine-" No it was not, if there were not so many witnesses I would have killed her. I fake a smile, but not hiding my frustration well. "I'll just wait over there." I sigh, moving away to a table. I was saving her life by putting some distance in between her and me. I see a red blur move behind me. _Please do not follow me, please do not follow me._ I found myself thinking. Sure enough he did.

"Then what is it?" He pulled out my chair, so I could sit down.

"What is what?" I give him a tiresome look, knowing he meant my name. I was just giving him a hard time for using the word 'it'.

"Your name silly." Did he really say silly? Was I five? Everyone was beginning to annoy me today. "My name is Timothy Drake. You can call me Tim if you like." He put out a hand for me to shake, however hospitality was never my forte.

"Nice to meet you, I'm really not a morning person so if you can just leave me alone." I lied, shaking his hand to be polite. He started to speak again, nonetheless, my attention was already elsewhere.

My eyes wandered to the tv screen where they were replaying the telecast I saw early today. I looked back, hoping the fact I was paying no attention to him convinced him to leave me alone. Boy was I wrong. Tim had taken a seat beside me. What was even more annoying was he was smirking at me. "That should be some party." He spoke, giving a small nod like we were friends talking. I stared at him a little, before nodding. "Yeah, I would think so."

"You know-" Oh no, what do 'I know' now. I sigh, looking over to the Barista for my coffee. She would be found dead in her home tonight, I was sure of it. 7am with maybe 5 people here and it's almost been 15 minutes to get Rachel's stupid coffee. "I can get you in that party." Tim spoke, noticing those words caught my attention. Could he really get me into that Party? I would not have to worry about security at all. Unless, he was trying to sound cool, or thought I would flaunt over the fact he could get me into such a high end party.

"Really?" I say skeptical, "How exactly do you plan on doing that?" I spoke curiously, taking a biscuit from the table to snack on.

"I live at the Manor. Mr. Wayne is a personal friend of mine, you could be my plus one to the event."

I choked on my biscuit, coughing a couple times before I could speak. Tim is the new Boy Blunder. If I was not choking, I would be laughing. The dweb I was speaking to was ROBIN! Bruce Wayne's new ward and Jason's replacement was the kid who following me.

"Are you okay?" Tim sounded concern, before noticing my choking. Luckily Robin knew how to give the Heimlich. The biscuit lodged in my throat flew away, spiraling at the Barista Lady, who had been coming to drop of my new coffee. I smirk a little, seeing her upset.

"Well-I'm-I'm already going..." Were the only words I managed to spit out.

"How?" Tim gave a look of confusion and a mix of curiosity. That meant I would not be getting out of the conversation any time soon.

"Let's just say I know Bruce, and Alfred."

"Oh-" The look on Tim's face reminded me of the look Bruce would give when he was trying to figure out what was fishy about me, before he was aware of my idenity. His look sent my heart beating quickly. I found myself hoping Batman was not on his way. "A family friend then, I didn't think they had any of those..."A test, one thing I was good at watching out for. Tim was testing me with a trick question. Bruce had no true friends, neither did Alfred, the manor was usually rather empty. Jason informed me of this when we were dating.

"I never said that." I say softly, watching him as close as he know watched me. It could be my usual guilt of being a villain, but I felt a new tension between us. He could not make a move now, that I was not aware of. My eyes stayed calm, yet focused on him. "I wouldn't classify myself as a family friend. However Bruce has known me all my life, him and my father work together." Tim knew I was not lying, because I made sure I showed no signs of lying. In fact, it was the truth. Bruce had known me my whole life as Enigma, and him and my father do work together. In a weird sort of way.

"Your father works at Wayne Enterprises,".I didn't correct him, as he gave a small nod to his questionI knew it was in his personality to figure some things out for himself. I just stared at him to go on, "You should stop by. Sometimes I pop by Bruce's work, maybe when I visit Bruce you can-"

"Me and my father do not get along very well." I spit out, before he could go on anymore. Again, not a lie. I scratch the side of my neck, this was starting to get uncomfortable. "We're actually fighting right now so I don't think that's the best idea-" Another reason why that was a bad idea, was that I had to avoid Bruce. He knew what Emily, I , looked like. He would have me arrested, or the Batman would appear out of no where.

"I'm sorry." He says, seeing how uncomfortable I became. Tim paused for a second before looking up, "May I ask what happened Miss-" He paused, eyeing my coffee cup for my name. However, I was not that foolish. The cup was blank. He smirked, realizing something he should of awhile ago, when I changed the subject. "I can't say you've given me your name yet."

He finally caught on to my changing the subject. Oh boy, Bruce must have been desperate for a Robin.

"Listen kid, I'm trying really hard not to just stab you and leave-" Oops, that slipped out of my loud mouth. Usually I filter those comments well. Crap, E think, how was I going to recover?

"What?" He frowned, "I'm no kid-I'm-"

"'I'm joking-" I add in awkwardly, despite not being joking. "It's just I don't date wimps. "

"Hey! I am no wimp, who said anything about dat-."

"What? Let me guess, your not a wimp because the scar on you head is suppose to prove otherwise?" I roll my eyes, remembering how easy he went down. He ticked me off right now, leading my mouth to kept running, "Or those broken ribs? Injuries make you a wimp, if you knew how to fight in the first place you would not have gotten them."

Tim must not have been as stupid as I expected, he eyed me for a second, "Wait." He grabbed my wrist, making my realize what just slipped out of my mouth. "How did you know about my broken ribs?"

I pull my arm away out of instinct, "The way you walk."

He gave me a look of uncertainty, "You've been favoring your left foot since you entered the bookstore and you breath twice when you speak fast. Your right ribs are hurting you, it is easy for anyone to tell." I grab my coffee with a small eye roll. "All you've got to do is keep your eyes open, it's easy to catch the little things." I taunt a little, not able to help myself

I turn to walk away, making sure to grab the coffee on my way out. Rachel totally owed me. Tim stops me, wanting to prove something I am sure. "Maybe I caught a few things of my own." He chimes in, catching my attention.

I turn to look at him in disbelief, with my hands on my hips. "Like what?"

"You lied, you're a morning person and an insomniac. You have been awake for a few hours, maybe waiting for a friend to wake up? That would explain the coffee- I mean the coffee isn't for you or else you would given up on trying to get it when that Barista spilled it. " He smiled, but that was not enough to shut him up. I hated when people used deductive reasoning on me, only I could use it to speak about other people.

"Now look whose the detective." I mumble under my breath. Tim seemed so proud of himself, like he knew he just surprised me a little. Nothing he caught I was trying to hid, so great for him. I roll my eyes, a sarcastic manner coming about me as I speak. "Great job, Bravo. Really that's great, but I must be going."

"-And-" He stayed ahead of me, blocking my path. _And what?_ I thought to myself, giving a small look of annoyance to him. Hopefully, this was his finale. "-most of all I know you've been hurt before. The way you still have not given me your name, or any credit for trying to flirt with you. You do not even realize how impersonal or unemotional your trying to be, go on detached, like your above others. You are forcing distance between yourself and everyone. I mean constant loss of eye contact, seclusion, drifting attention. Who did you lose?" My breath shortened, as I froze. No sarcastic comment escaped my mouth as he caught me off guard. "You said your dad is still alive, yet you have problems with him. I would say from emotional detachment of a loss- Who is it? Mother? Brother? Boyfriend?" I punched him straight in the jaw. A cocky smirk greeted me as he grabbed his jaw. Only I had the right to be cocky, because my higher IQ and the fact I am the daughter of a mastermind. Tim was on so many pain killers for his ribs, my punch unsurprisingly felt like nothing. He would feel it later today.

"Leave me the fuck alone, you know nothing about my life you little smart ass." I dumped the hot coffee over his head to get rid of his smile. I stormed passed him. Rachel could go without her coffee. In the background I could hear Tim cussing under his breath, trying to get the coffee off of him. Tim felt the burn alright. Good, I would like to see him go ahead and explain to Alfred why he is dripping coffee through Wayne Manor. The wrath of Alfred would be unescapable.


	7. The Plan

"Alright, Let me get this straight." Another hour passed by as Rachel took her good old time with my plan. Already, the timer on the microwave read 1pm as Rachel's pencil hit the table again. The bottom end of the eraser was beginning to wear from the constant tapping of her pencil. "You want to turn Bruce Wayne's celebration for Richard Grayson, who is as close as a Celebrity Gotham has, into a giant death game." An unamused, yet concern, Rachel spoke. The pencil slide behind her bright red hair, while her hands went to pick up her fourth cup of coffee for the day, How many times did she want me to go over my genius plan? She should have to buy me lunch for not catching on by now. Usually it never took this long for her to give in, and go along with my idea. I for one could not tell if she was stalling, or being generally idiotic. Either way we have no time to spare as the ball is Friday. Seven days with no time to waste. A wide reached scheme, like the one I wished to pull off, normally took months. My plan becomes more complex considering we trying to pull it off with only Rachel and myself. In a regular timeline, we would be focusing on rehearsal of the plan by now, not sketching the blueprints. My stomach was starting to become a hostage in her game, growing hungry for lunch.

"Exactly!" I sigh, leaning back in my chair. Rachel looked down at the table. which hardly had any space to put down her coffee cup. Blueprints, sticky notes and and green paper had to be pushed aside for her to set it down.

"Even considering the extra security.." Rachel hesitated again, eyeing me in confusion. She could not place why I was so focused and persistent on such a plan. For a second, I wondered if I should fill her in a little to what I knew about Bruce being Batman. Then again, Bruce could spill my secret to anyone, or worse tell Rachel about Jason. "-which Bruce guarantees will keep Joker out."

"Joker is not that smart as everyone makes him out to be. We shall be fine." I shrug, looking up at her. Sure, I knew the security was a feature in place to prevent me and my tactics. Bruce would try his best to make it impossible for Enigma, Emily, or any aliases of mine to make it through the front door, or roof. Therefore, I let Rachel believe the measures were all in place for the Joker, instead of me. I mean her knowing only gives her another reason to not agree to my plan. "I'm a genius, remember. This will work."

"E. That sounds just about as insane as people think we are." Obviously, Rachel was not Miss Optimistic today. Maybe I did wake her up too early.

"Yeah, so?"

She takes a long exhale out, tapping the pen against the table. Her eyes scanned over the blueprints, which I quickly sketched for her an hour ago.

"You are going to do this with or without me I presume."

"Of course."

She sighed, starting to draw on my sketches.

"First off, we need the exact blueprints of Wayne Manor."

"Do-able. I'm bidding on them as we speak." I pull out my phone from beneath the table. The black market was such a wonderful thing. To my surprise, the Wayne Manor sketches were placed online earlier that day. I hope they are real. RH357 was the IP address selling them, which was helpful. I had no time to do my own hacking.

"Secondly, I don't think we should harm Bruce Wayne, as much as we hate him. Nor should we touch his guest of honor, I mean-" She scratched her neck, having a look of uncomfort about her. Rachel paused a little before giving a small nod. "It's just not my style, or yours really."

"I don't have a style." I roll my eyes, what was she even talking about with style. Her words were boring to say the least. I will harm whoever I like. Rachel could not stop me from letting that happen.

"Your plan is to destroy his reputation, Grayson does not need to die. We can cross this part off." I watch as she crosses off my assassination of the first Robin. Why did she have so much of a problem with it? Once again, I wonder if I should tell her what sins I know about Bruce and Mr. Grayson. No, she does not need to know. Rachel could tell everyone, or worse ask how I knew such a thing. "It's impractical..." Rachel went on. "I mean...everyones going to think you will kill off the guest first. Heightened security there... I mean your just wasting your time.." She paused, trying to see if I was buying it. "You get what I'm trying to say. Right?"

For once I did not. I shook my head no. Why let the first boy blunder and Bruce get away scot free. The whole plan was to make them suffer. Rachel seemed stress, trying to calm herself down. She tried to explain in another way. "Your smart E, there are ways to hurt them without physically hurting them."

I pause, something clicked inside. "That's brilliant-shut up for a second." I start to scribble. Rose gave me the best idea, with my intelligence and her skills we had the ability to pull my new plan off. What did Bruce value more than anything? His secret, he is the Batman. No longer did my plan include Bruce being hurt, or to kill the Grayson in front of him. No, my plan was even better than that. A giant trap made for Bruce to take away what he loves. At the party, Bruce will either step forward as the Batman, or everyone at the party slowly dies, without being saved. Imagine, all the criminals who hate the Batman, what would happen when they found out. Bruce, unable to hide anymore, would die within a week. The best part, this new plan was perfectly sane enough for Rachel to go along with. As long as I kept a few secret twists of my own. I would be like the four horsemen in Now You See Me, using the illusions and riddles to convince the audience they were in danger. All at 's expense of course. His fame, and the party provides cameras to broadcasting everything live. The manor becomes a wonderful game, yes, going on with the spotlight on Bruce. For we all know the Batman can not show up unless Bruce disappears-I'll keep him, and the first and third Robin in the center of it all. They will have no escaping it. Security will fail, by locking down the entire event by accident.

"Earth to E! Hellooo..." I forgot, my mind had me trailing off in thought leaving Rachel in silence. "What did you think of?"

I grin, spinning the paper her way. Rachel examines it, reviewing it once more. An hour later, neither of us spoke a word. We kept on passing the paper back and forth, back and forth.

"Do you think it might work?" I say after our brainstorming, and tweaking the paper a little.

Rachel looked up shocked that we created such a scheme. "Yeah...I actually think it would." All she saw were Bruce, Not Jason, and first boy blunder kept safe as politicians died in a game like fashion. I did not mention my plan to keep the center of attention on them. Rachel would not be able understand that part.

"Looks like we are going to have a fun Friday night!" I spin in my chair, heading for the fridge. My stomach was starving, "All We need to figure out is a way in." I took out some leftover pizza for us. Rachel went to get the plates, and two sodas.

"Oh...yeah I forgot about that" Rachel admits, as I place the food down on the counter. "Well, I mean it's not that hard. We can go in as guests under our aliases."

What could I say? Nope, sorry Rachel that won't work because I kinda showed the Batman, Robin, Alfred actually everyone in that household my secret identity. As for Commissioner Gordon? Oh yeah he thinks I am a missing person's case and might be abducted by my dead boyfriend. Instead of explaining anything to her, I just shrugged. "Eh, dressing up? Maybe I should just go in as staff. Keep a low profile.."

"Low Profile?"

"Yeah, you know? Hack the systems, find out where they are catering, add my name to the staff list. Fake name, fake background check, generate a story, cross reference it with others. Much simpler."

"Than just using your real name and going to the party as the guest." Rachel spoke in disbelief, but I continued my push for a low profile. I stood up from the table

"Spending the night?"

"Yeah, it's rather late. We can move back to Graceland tomorrow, I don't feel like dragging all this back."

"Just don't use my toothbrush." Rachel teased, throwing our plates in the sink. First thing you get use to, being in a criminal family and all, is the weird sleep schedules. Crime happens at night, which is why the Batman also comes out at night. You rarely ever see Scarecrow, Killer Croc or even Catwoman lurking in daylight. Easier for people to spot us, cops are more awake, really it is foolish for a criminal to pull a scheme around lunchtime. Therefore, you sleep when you can. Most villains sleep like Rachel, heading to bed in the early dawn. Crim My father calls sleep overrated, but sadly, we need sleep to survive. I figured our planning was done for today, leading me to retired. I was walking to her room when something caught my eye.

"Oh I think one of our papers dropped!" I say, catching sight of a light tan and blue paper, that rested just out of view of the table. The small slip appeared to have fallen, caught underneath the chair by the couch.

I bend down to pick it up, missing the panic in Rachel's eyes behind me. "Don't worry about it, It's just trash." Rachel says, her voice sounding weird.

In a second, I knew why. The light blue piece of paper was not trash. My mouthparts a bit in shock. I stared at what may be the last thing I would suspect to find lying around Rachel's apartment. An Invitation to the Wayne Ball, the very one we were planning to destroy. I hear her move behind me. I knew what my so called friend had to be thinking. How could she play this off? A lie, for sure would be given. Wait, the last time there was a ball, well gala, Kane had an invitation. He was being my father's pawn to manipulate me, his rook. I tap the card on the table, eyeing Rachel. "Want to tell me why you already have an invite?" My eyes scan the card, in shock to find her name address specifically on it. A personal invitation from the Wayne himself, now that was rather rare for a criminal like Rachel to have "One addressed to you." I add.

As I hand the invitation back to her, she looks frozen. A fake laugh escapes Rachel, acting like I never heard what her real one sounded like before.

"Well.." Oh this should be good, I thought to myself as Rachel started. "You know I know people." You do? I wanted to interrupt, however I kept my comments to myself. "You remember, one of my mom's alias? Isley. She knew this doctor who used to help all the time..."

A blatant and terrible lie right to my face. Her voice zoned out into nothing but background music. I could not help it, it hurt to hear another person I considered close lie to my face. First Jesse, now Rachel, did I ever have someone to trust? They all consider me a fool. My stomach twisted with inner turmoil. Everyone thinks of me as some trusting idiotic, giving Enigma no respect to the name. How did I end up this way? The room started to move on me, my grip on the end of couch tightened. I took a deep breath, noticing she had finished speaking. "Really."

"Yeah, I was going to pull something at the event...just not this bad. This new plan is so much better so I wasn't going to tell you."

I ignored her, to tired with my ankle still hurting from last night to get in any trouble. "It's fine." My throat felt stiff, as I attempted to take another breath. My world started to cave down on me the moment Jason left. I started to become dizzy and pained as imagined how much I truly lost in the past year. So much has changed, and I had no control over any of it. Single handedly, Emily destroyed the inception that was Enigma. How could Enigma be such an illusion to the outside world, destroyed like shatter glass. Now it was I, who was forced to walk along the glass of my lies and broken promises. I had no one. The true reality I was coming to face. Once a criminal, always a criminal. I knew that part already, and made peace with it long ago. I became the fool when I thought there was honor amongst thieves, or even family. Everyone, including my father, was unreliable. No more did I trust someone else to be beside me. I refuse to let my revenge plot be tainted by Rose or even my father's lies and plans for me. Rachel would pay for her lies, along with everyone else Friday Night. The invitation just saved me from making another big mistake, now all I had to do was work my own plan around her.

"Em? Are you okay.." Rachel says, seemingly holding me up. Did I pass out? I knew I felt weak, but I did not remember hitting the ground. I notice a little blood on the floor, mine from a skinned knee. Weird.

"I just need some sleep..." I sigh, speaking the truth. Tiredness was the only explanation I had for passing out. Looking at the clock, the last time I slept was 48 hours ago. I guess I have not been taking it easy since I return home from Arkham.

"Now I know you're not okay, you'd never admit to being tired." Rachel teased, still with the hint of concern in her voice. She lead me into the guest bedroom. My eyelids were half close as I fell back on the bed.

"Owe..."I felt my knee burning, then the burning sensation came over my messed up ankle. With my eyes closed I knew what was happening. Rachel must have noticed my wounds and placed some healing plant of hers, or whatever hippy natural stuff on me to quicken the healing process. Without pain, for the first time today I relax, sleep coming over me quickly. "Thanks Rach.."

"No Problem E, get some rest. We have a busy week ahead of us." She smiled softly, heading for the door.

As she turned off the lights, it felt like old times. Rachel cleaning up my mistakes, helping me heal so I could finally get some rest. I curl around my pillow, imagining older times, before Jason, before Kane went crazy, before Rachel or me ever left Gotham. Old times, when I thought of Rachel as an older sister, and not my enemy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: Obvious question is what do you guys think about the chapter, if your enjoying the sequel or not, however, I wish to give you all a riddle or a clue about the next few chapters. Feel free to leave your guesses below: So Riddle me this,  
 _A single strand of laughter is my call. To sanity or slaughter the world will fall. A hidden face behind a mask, will lead Enigma to one final task. A curse for revenge will end one more, once it is revealed whose behind the door_. ~E


	8. Fright Night

_You've failed, we all knew you would." The Joker's voice laughed, mocking Enigma as she tried to hang on to the ledge. Her voice was hoarse, desperately trying to call out for help. No sound admitted from it as the crowbar swung towards her hands once more._

 _A young boy came up behind him in a dark brown leather jacket. Without looking at his face Enigma knew who he was. A shot of pain hit her knuckles as the crowbar landed on them, her left hand starting to give. No, Enigma thought, her heart pounding. "Come on Little E, Dont'cha want to hang around dearie?" His voice taunted, as Kane bent down to face her. "You really thought you could run away, every move you make has been planned from the start girlie." Enigma appeared startled as one of her hands slipped off the ledge, down below her miles away was hell. She could feel the flames wrapping around her feet._

 _"Help." A quiet plea escaped her rough voice, which Enigma never thought anyone would hear. The word echoed loudly, drowning everything else out. Everyone stopped for a second, then broke out in laughter._

 _Rose appeared alongside Kane, she looked down at Enigma as if she was pathetic. "Did Enigma really just ask for help?"_

 _Kane shook his head, "No, Enigma never would ask for help, it is Miss_ _ **Emily**_ _, who wants help."_

 _"Who's that again?"_

 _"I don't know."_

 _Her mouth stopped, failing to open to speak up. Enigma felt herself wanting to scream. Guys, it's me. Guys it's me, don't let me fall. She noticed them getting farther, and farther from the ledge as she felt weaker. No. Why were her friends not helping her? The Joker's laughter started to consume the area around her as the young blonde struggled._

 _In the corner of her eye she saw the Batman and the Nightwing fellow, never before had she felt so relieved. "Bruce..." She tried to call out, knowing Arkham had to be better then hell. The bat's shadow dropped down on them._

 _"Joker, give me the crowbar." He spoke from behind the cowl._

 _The Joker did not seem to fight much, handing over the metal instrument with ease. "Alright Brucie..." He knew? Enigma wondered in awe, before sensing something was not right. The sheer second Enigma felt relieved disappeared as Bruce had a twisted look on his face. The crowbar came crashing down on her fingers, the final straw to make her fall._

 _A shrilling scream came from behind one of the doors in the distance. "What's that?" A young Enigma eyed the door. She seemed curious to the pained noises coming from behind it._

 _In the distance her father smiled, "A present for you my dear."_

 _E felt her pulse racing as she headed for the door, "No...No!" she scream out loud, becoming startled upon opening the gift. A half burnt and beaten corpse laid in front of her. Her hand reached out for him, as she felt her eyes swelling into tears._

 _"For you." His voice repeated, smile turning into a twisted grin._

 _"No...No..." Emily's hand touched the body, his head turning over to reveal what she feared. Jason._

 _"It was always planned..."_

 _"No." Her voice quietly cracked. The Riddler's commands started to distance themselves more and more as a new voice came to light._

 _"You did this." The corpse of Jason said in a hateful tone. "You did this to me." Everyone from earlier started to laugh like the Joker as they circled her. Jason's hands went to her neck, starting to choke her. Emily could not breath._

"E! E!" A distant voice speaks as the hold gets stronger. My breaths becoming quicker and shorter. All I could see was black, nothingness as I realized I am going to die. Cool hands shake my trembling, hot body, as her voice shifts from hateful to concern. "Wake up! Emily!" I scream still in panic, feeling control of my feet to finally kick the corpse off me.

Thud.

My eyes shot open, hearing the noise. They darted around my bedroom in Graceland, when I looked around for the source of a groan. "Rach?" I speak, sounding out of breath.

I found Rachel on the ground, holding her arm in pain. The confusion disappeared as I put together what occurred, which happened to be another nightmare turned panic attack. She failed to speak for a second, before her light green eyes gazed upwards with concern. "Are you okay?"

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down to give a realistic yes. A light coating of sweat laid on my face, despite how cold I felt. "Yes, just a nightmare."

Rachel shook her head, staring at me with worry. She stood up, then sat at the end of my bed. Again, she played the part of an older sister, trying to make everything better. "E, you've been acting funny since I arrived in Gotham."

"And you haven't?!" I snide sharply, on the defense as always. I know my tone of voice with her sounded harsh despite my meaning to.

"Maybe I have." Rachel spoke softly, turning on the light. "We've both been through who knows what these past few months." She thought on her own experiences, shaking her head. "but E..." She sounded like she had a hard time getting out what she had to say. Rachel took a deep breath. "I heard what happened with you."

My heart starts to beat faster and faster, dropping as she spoke. All this time, I tried to hid it from her to shield what she would think of me, and she knew. "W-who told you?" I say, holding my pillow close to my chest.

"I have my sources." She wrapped an arm around me in a half hug. "Once I found out everything made sense E. You not being with your dad, the funny way you've been acting, all of it." Rachel gave a small smile, "You know it's okay, right?"

I look down, feeling unsure. Rachel may not have known Jason, but I wanted to be as relaxed about the situation as her.

Rachel noticed my reaction, and continued on, "I mean your dad can't fault you for being locked up in there so long." _What?_ I think to myself. My head snaps up to her, listening closely. "6 months is a lot of time to be bombarded by Doctors and loonie meds. The Riddler's never been in the R.E.D. row at Arkham. Hell, most of us villains don't even know about it." I felt a little disappointed to myself that she did not know about Jason. Although Rachel had no way of knowing about him, I wish I had someone like Jason to speak freely about his death. "I know you don't talk about these nightmares, your anger, but if you ever want to talk about what happened in R.E.D. I'm here. You know I'm always here for you Em." She hugged me.

No wonder she understood my 'condition' and 'weirdness' so clearly, because Rachel did not know a thing about it. Still oblivious to Jason, Bruce, the full story, I found myself safer with my secrets. A nice gesture on her part, however, there was no way I could trust her. " Thanks Rachel."

"Trust me." She smiled, seeming hopeful and positive. "You'll feel even better in three days when the Wayne's ball comes around."

Now that was something we could both agree on.

A flash of lightning stuck the window as Rachel went back to bed. Emily's eyes were closed, therefore, she missed the mysterious shadow watching her from the rooftop of the building across the street.


	9. Him or I, One Shall Die

Although there were only 48 hours until the Wayne event, I became excited for our scheme. The whole plan started to fit together as Rachel and I worked day and night. Neither of us had left Graceland since we started. We ordered Pizza, Chinese, and about any other kind of food we could get dropped off at the apartment, without having a distraction from our work. Everything seemed pretty organized by now, so I decided to take a walk. To reassure Rachel I would not get myself in trouble during my walk, I had to leave everything Enigma related back in Graceland.

Despite the fact very few people knew Emily, I still wore a Gotham Knight's baseball cap to hide my face. Rachel was right, I did not want to risk our work for catching some 'fresh' air, which was never really fresh when you live in a city like Gotham. With my luck I would run into Bruce or Commissioner Gordon. The nice part of taking a walk was the fact I could hear myself think.

A soft chuckle came from the distance, making me freeze. I heard nothing but the pattering of rain, when I paused. My imagination could be hell at times having startled me before with weird dreams and hearing things. Maybe the sanity I thought I had was slipping.

HAHAHAHA

A creaking sound of laughter echoed from behind me. Imagination or not, I broke out into a sprint. The chuckle sounded dark, twisted, chills surged through my spine. No doubt the Joker had found me. I slip in my run, the raindrops playing against me. In my stumble, the baseball cap is left behind.

Lightning flashed again, as I caught sight of green hair in the distance ahead of me. I spring back up to my feet, taking a turn down one of the numerous alleyways Gotham had. His laugh started to get closer as I find a large dumpster in my way. No way would I let the clown catch up to me, I jump up on a garbage, pulling myself up over it. _Why was he after me?_ I had done nothing wrong, yet. Well, besides blowing up some his warehouses. My feet come to a halt as another roadblock stood in my way. A dead end, which I could not scale. I pause, looking down at my civilian clothes. How did Joker know it was me? ...or did he? Right now, I was dressed as Emily, which meant the Joker could not possible see me as Enigma unless the laugh did not belong to him.

"Miss me dearie?"

His taunting voice came from behind as I stared back at the dead end once more. Only one boy in the world could be confused for the Joker, the two faced devil himself, Jesse Kane. No way I would humiliate myself by running from a fool like him. He was never the one I feared.

"Kane." I speak in disgust as I spun around, acting more bothered by his appearance than anything.

His wicked smiled curled up along the sides of his face, outlined with a darker maroon tint. Personally I felt the red clashed with his shaggy green hair. "Well?" His eyes glimmered with a type of wickedness as he got closure. Jesse started to pace back and forth, circling me. "Dearie, I couldn't hear that loud mouth of yours, **M** iss me?" The voice he used kept a taunting tone like I were his prey. I knew him well enough to hear the anger in his mockery. Kane strutted toward me with confidence, a casual, yet hell of a lot of crazy lurking from within. My heart started to pound in my chest, warning me of the danger I put myself in. Why was he so angry with me? Kane held no right to be mad at me, considering he knew about Jason's death. **He** was the reason I happened to be locked away. In fact, it was Kane, who played a part at every turn, without giving me so much of as a warning. The worse thing he did was trick me. Kane had no right to be angry with me, but I, I had all the reasons to want him dead. Last time we met he called me weak. Weak because I could not finish what I should of. Jesse Kane should have died that night, not Jason.

"Kane, I see you haven't gotten over your Joker fan girling." I snarl, not wanting to back down to him. Oh, I bet he would be so pleased to know I thought the clown himself was the one chasing me. I proceeded to act as if I meant to run down a dead end alley. He took one step closer, creating a tension between the two of us as he lurked over me.

A shrilling laugh escaped his brightly colored lips, echoing off each of the walls until it faded. His lips lowered down into my ear with a harsh whisper. "Depends. Have you gotten over your Robin fangirling my little E?"

I glare straight back into eyes, which were full of crazy. He knew very well how angry his words would make me. I shove him back in annoyance, walking towards the dumpster behind him. Kane did not come straight after me, as he knew I would not run, or maybe he knew his speed was greater than mine. "My, my it must be hard to praise something that died so pathetically." Although loud, his tone of voice held a coldness about it.

His laughter added to my pain and anger. I stop, glaring at the ground. "At least Robin had balls to stand up for what he wanted."  
I growl under my breath.

Without missing a beat Kane smirked, "You'd know that very well, wouldn't you?" He chuckled hard but his voice sounded more annoyed than amused as he made a mockery of what relationship I used to have. I went silent at his response. "I'm where I've always wanted to be, E." He paced around me, circling again. "Powerful, respected. I became what I've trained for, and, and as for you-"

"Respect?" I scoffed, shaking my head. He looked up slightly confused. "Is that what you call this? You're wearing more makeup than I do in a year and that's only including your left eye."

He rammed me up against the wall hard, I felt a cracking noise in my neck. I growl under my breath.

"Well-" He spoke lightly, giving a pause. "Aren't you the jokester?" Kane smirks right in front of my face, taunting me on as his hands had me pinned.

Out of strategy, I choose not to fight his pin. Obviously the smile on my face was fake as I replied calmly. "Well, One of us has to be the comic relief." He pauses, tilting his head. Oh, he was expecting a sadistic reply or rant from me. I knew that my response would catch him off guard. I kicked him backwards, but his instincts help him dodge the punch to his face.

Kane looked pissed as he fell on his ass. "Yeah, pretending to be dead for six months had us all laughing." A hint of emotion escaped his voice. I swear, for a second it sounded hurt.

"I imagined that." I spoke sarcastically, "too bad that wasn't my doing."

Jesse looked perplexed, tilting his head. He always made assumptions. Did he really think I died? Gordon may have believed that, which only proved how foolish the Commissioner was.

I smirk, my turn to know something he did not. "Guess you didn't hear. Got sent to death row for my 'part' of what happened to Robin." I crossed my arms, Kane calmed to the point where he did not immediately attack me back. He stood up, listening. "Bats assumed I had a part in killing Jason. Therefore he locked me up, in a place I didn't even know existed. They did mental therapy, drugs, childhood analysis, trama reports and in a couple weeks I would have been in the electric chair because I was only getting worse." As I spoke, I found myself getting more furious, hands gripping to fists as I explained what happened to me. My anger consumed me to the point where I did not take notice of the sympathy slipping through his crazed green eyes. The memories from R.E.D Row were not something I would like to recall any time soon. "Well." I stop my sentence abruptly, "No need to worry now." I spoke sarcastically, knowing Kane would never waste time worrying about me. He thought of me as a fool and a mark to please the Joker. Right now my 'people who want me dead' list is longer than most stay at home moms grocery lists so it wouldn't surprise me. I shake my head, "All you need to know is I'm alive, and back now, which means I'm taking my territories back."

He rolled his eyes, "Shocker going back to your daddy, You know he had a part in-"

"I never said that." I kept the emotion out of my voice. "I am not going back to that man."

This made his grin widen, he started to crack up laughing. "No...No way." His cheshire like smile taunted me, why was he finding this amusing. Have I said too much? "Oooo Oooo, The reason you're mad at me, your old man, and let me guess Joker as well...is...is-" He laughed insanely, unable to control himself. "That's what brought you over the edge!? The birdie!" Kane could hardly speak he was laughing so hard. I shoved him back. He did not understand. I loved Jason, Kane did not have most emotions besides amusement or anger. He would never understand.

"No..." I pause, knowing it was useless to lie to him. He knew my patterns. "yes...okay." I admit, Kane was at least respectable to let know why I would be the one to kill him. "Yes fine, you all had a part in killing the love of my life-"

Kane's rude interruption of a scoffing noise caught me off. "Please, what did you do with the real E?" His eyes rolled.

"What do you mean?"

He paused to see if I was serious before frowning, "Please, Girlie I've known you for years. Give me some credit. I know when you sound nothing like yourself."

In distraught I glare, he could not be serious. I did not change, if anything I am even more of a psychopathic genius as I was when we first started. "You're fucking joking." I reply.

"Please, I would never peg you for the E I knew." Jesse spoke with disgust, shaking his head. He was acting like I was some newbie to the criminal world, or even worse a civilian. Kane continued to defend his point, "Look at yourself, you are boy crazy and don't give a damn about your old man. I would never peg you for the E I knew."

I thought about it a second, before shaking my head. Only one response came to mind, "She died with the boy wonder."

That was the last thing Kane wanted to hear, watching how cold, how serious I became as I said that.

"and what now." He forced himself to ask. I knew better then to consider his response a question, no it was the edge.

The next few minutes were the calm before the storm. I don't know what made me explain myself to him as I started to tell him my plans. I wasn't stupid. What I said was not the full scheme, only parts of it. Maybe I knew why I said what I did. Deep inside a part of me wanted to prove to him I was still dangerous, that I had not changed. The words gracefully slipped from my lips as I spoke about the event. Kane kept a blank expression on his face until I finished.

"No way." He broke out into laughter, clutching his stomach. Did he find my plan funny? I meant what I said. Soon Kane realized this, which made him pause, confused. "You're Serious?" I nod. His gaze shifted to look ticked off about my plan. I figured he was upset I did not include him. "Some plan, Your gonna get yourself killed."

Jesse stared back at me, trying to understand what was going through my mind. He noticed that I didn't look concern, which only made him more upset.

"Your suicidal." He says slowly and in a more quiet tone.

"What? You don't think I can do it?" I avoided his question and he knew it. Why do I feel like everyone's judging me? First Rose, now Kane. Who cares if I am suicidal? Maybe, I have just had enough with Gotham and the insanity it brings. Jesse was the last person to go judging, considering how much danger he is involved with. Jesse Kane, the boy who left his normal, wealthy, family to join the joker and pursue a life of a criminal. How dare he judge me. Unlike him, I never choose this life.

"You want to know what I think?" He takes a step closer, sounding annoyed. "Let's just say now...Now, I think you should go back to being your old man's lapdog."

I growl, "You hypercritical little-"

Kane cuts me off, his green eyes locking with mine. "And you're just a spoiled brat, who is too smart to for her own good." He paused for a split second, getting in my face. "Or, did Jason destroy that too? Hmmm? Did he take away your ability to think when he destroyed your self respect, your pride, stripping all the fun out of you-"

In anger, I slapped him across the face. No one ever dared to speak to me in that way. The slap stung, but to Kane it meant so much more. My response pushed him off the very thin ledge of sanity we both stood on. A twisted look shot through his eyes as he shoved me backwards. In seconds we were brawling with one another. He pulled out a knife, I pulled a razor blade. We clashed hard, both frustrated for each other.

His knife skims my cheek, cutting it along with a curl from my hair. Countering his attack I jab the razor blade towards his abdomen, ripping his shirt. He smirks, knocking the blade out of my hand with a swipe of his knife.

My razor blade fell onto the floor before him. He smirked, assuming he had me beat. "Always too cocky." I mutter, dodging his knife strike once more. He dared think my intellect was a rogue, I would show him. My father taught me to always be prepared, which is why I suspected Kane would seek me out at sometime. I had my secret weapon hidden inside my boot, incase this went south.

"Says the queen of ego" Jesse Kane rolled his eyes. As he charged forward, for what I would assume to make his final move, which would be to pin me down. _Time to catch him off guard_ , I thought as I reached down for my boot. My plan was to draw my pistol on him. A single bullet right to the center of his head for what he did to Jason, but to my surprise he was ready. He threw his knife in the air. Therefore, as I dodged the blade coming for my head, he took advantage snagging the pistol out of my boot. _No! How did he know?_ The situation became worse, when I felt the warehouse wall to my back. A psychotic Kane cornered me, out smarted me, how? To be honest I knew this confrontation would end with either me or him dead, however, I thought it would be me who stepped over his body in the end.

I shut my eyes, waiting for death. His cold breath felt close to my neck as the words, "Say it" , whispered in my ear. His tone of voice sounded almost playful, like one that completely ignored how dark we both were only a few seconds ago.

"Say what?" I sound confused before understanding what he meant. No, I lost. I die, that's how today would work. My eyes open, staring back into his as I shake my head no. "Pull it, do it...pull the trigger."

His knife laid on the ground beside me, yet there was no way to reach it. "And I thought I was the crazy one." Kane smirks, disabling the safety of the gun. He laughs, "Come on Baby Riddles. All you have to do is say it, and your life will be spared. You know the words." He misunderstand, I didn't care that I've lost because I'm done playing.

My emerald eyes met his with the look of is to say I could beat the Batman, or the Joker, when I could not even kill Jesse. I would rather Kane end my life, than either of those idiots. "No, you won. It's over. I have nothing left to fight for, so good ahead. Pull the trigger."  
His eyes widen, realizing the game was in fact over for me. His gun wavered a bit, "Em stop with this bullshit. He was a boy, there's plenty of them in the world." Kane snarls, back to sounding pissed. "Not to mention, you guys weren't even dating that long. What happened to the E I knew? The one who preached the false illusion of love, and didn't fight for anyone but herself."

Silence.

How could I respond to him, when I didn't even know the answer to his question. Instead of facing him, I look down, waiting for his gun to fire.

"That's what I thought." Kane lowers the gun, taking a step back. He turns to leave.

 _What was I not good enough to be killed by him?_ A part of me was pissed he never pulled the trigger. I sigh, about to go on my own way when my eyes catch sight of his knife. Quickly, I glance upwards to double check his back was still to me. Fool, there is a reason why you never turn your back to your opponent. I bend down to pick up the knife, keeping it in the palm of my hand. Deep inside, I knew only one of us would leave alive. In one motion, I jumped up on his back, throwing him down with the force of my legs. A confused Kane frowned, trying to shove me off of him.

"What the hell E?" He pushes me away, only for me to shove him back to the ground. How dare he? Did he really think he could leave, just walk away after humiliating me?

"I should have killed you when I had the chance.." I say out of hate and spit. Everything came back to me, like how he was the crucial part in killing Jason. A new reason formed on why he would be better to me dead. Now a days he had a direct connections to the clown, meaning a dead Kane would affect the Joker badly. His death would fit perfectly into my plan for revenge. I slide the knife up his neck, as I told myself why his death was a good thing.

Once I got out of my head, I looked down at Kane. I respected him enough that I would look him in the eyes when I cut his throat. Something felt odd about the boy who laid under my knife. Unlike the Jesse Kane I knew, this one did not fight back or even smile. For once, the dark clown prince did not act like he was having fun. What scared me the most was his eyes. Instead of the common factor of insanity boiling in them, or even anger, they almost looked at me with the emotion of concern. I never saw that in him before. He sighs, noticing how long my knife rested against his neck. "Go on and do it. If you're going to kill me Em, just make it fast."

Without much hesitation, I press the knife against his neck roughly. Blood started to drip from the cut as it sliced deeper into his throat. No mercy I showed, cutting slowly. A stunned Kane noticed the pain and the blood that followed. He seemed startled for a second, in awe that I would actually kill him. Then, in a matter of seconds, I found myself thrown off of him. The knife flew out of my hand as I fell on my back. The situation changed all to quickly as he pinned me down. The weight of his body too much for me to stand or fight. For now all I could hear was the pounding sound of his heart. I watch the blood, dripping down his neck. Once again Jesse fell into a position, where he could easily kill me. I had no weapon, no way out, and Kane knew he had full domination over the situation. His knife, which he slipped out of his sleeve, kept me in place. Surely, now he would kill me. I brace myself for the knife as he lifted it above my throat. One final strike, I imagine would plunge down on my throat. He would not make the mistake I did by trying to bring death slowly. I laid on the ground, ready to encounter death when something rather unusual happened. Jesse Kane shook his head, throwing the knife was thrown away. His actions were followed by a sad sounding laugh of disbelief. I watch as the knife hit the wall with such a force to it, that the blade snapped in two.

"Ha." He sighed, shaking his head as he moved off of me. "You really don't get it, do you Emily?" I stare at him, confused, never before had he used my real name. Jesse's hand softly touched his bleeding neck, wincing in pain from the wound. His eyes fell down to his hand, gazing at his blood. "Of course you don't." He looked away for a second, before helping me to my feet with his clean hand. "You're the smartest girl in the world, who can solve equations and challenging word problems in a blink of the eye, but your not trained to see what's in front of you." I had never heard him sound like this before. His voice seemed annoyed in a way that did not sound threatening or angry, just disappointed.  
In my head I tried to give my best guess to what brought on this unusual attitude from Jesse. All I could come up with was Kane happened to be so shocked from almost dying, the shock created confusion, which prevented him from killing me. It may seem far fetched, yet nothing else made sense.

Kane noticed I still had not a clue to what he was talking about and cracked a small, tired smile. "Good luck with your scheme E." Without another word the green haired jester moved swiftly, flipping up the fire escape. I watched as his silhouette faded out into the darkness with the strange feeling coming over me like I missed something.


	10. Nightrose

I thought little about my brawl with Kane as I walked back to Graceland. Not wanting to return to Rachel covered in blood, I cleaned up in a gas station prior to heading into the feeling of lurking eyes made me look around. No one. Why am I so paranoid? I sigh, shaking my head as I walk up the stairs. It's been a long night. In the corner of my eye I notice a man with a hat tilted inward. Suspicious, maybe I-No, Enigma you're just exhausted. Go upstairs and get some sleep. I tell myself, opening the doorway to our apartment. Soon enough I slipped by, falling into my bed with the sheer weight of exhaustion on me. My heavy eyes dropped as my face hit the pillow with a plop.

A gasp came from the living room, making my eyes pop open. Rachel? I carefully roll around in bed, noticing the sun had yet to rise this morning. Wait but that noise, it belonged to Rachel! She never woke up this early! I spring from my bed, swiftly moving to the door.

"I said you need to go." Her voice came from just beyond our bedroom door. I wonder who she was talking to. My hand gently cracks open the door, peeking out of my room to find where the noise came from.

"What are you up to Rachel?" A male voice questioned out loud, sounding concern with a hint of accusation. Only a handful of people called Rose by her real name for hardly anyone knew it. The only person beside her mom and I who knew her name Rachel was Kane. I doubt this voice belonged to him, too professional and serious. Plus, he rarely ever calls us by our actual names.

"Nothing." Rachel insists, "Lets go some place else to talk."

"You disappeared without a trace. Are you in danger?" The voice was oddly familiar, but not recognizable. Slowly I move the door open to catch view of the mystery boy.

"I know, I'm sorry but can you just go, you're not supposed to be here."

My breath shorts at the sight of the a cleaned up Richard Grayson, in the doorway of our apartment. What the hell is he doing here? Little bat freak. Without a second thought my hand grabbed to my knife. I pause, noticing how comfortable Rachel looked right now. No mass of plant's ready to tear him a part, she stood utterly defenseless like... did she-? Everything comes crashing down, hitting me. My head starts to spin at the realization, there was something between them. I feel sick, holding alongside the wall.

"Please Dick, you need to get out of here." Dick? Really, how on earth is Dick short for Richard? There's no D! Or K for that matter.

"Why?" His voice dropped, light blue eyes drifted past Rachel. He noticed a shadow. His body tensed, hand staying still by his side. Grayson stood on guard, keeping his voice lowered. "Who's here?" He sounded concerned, which I thought was funny. A hero concerned for a villain, like that would ever- nevermind. Suddenly, I develope an anger inside of me.

"It's none of your concern..." Rachel started, but my mouth could not stay shut any longer.

"It really isn't, because I am leaving." I snap, turning to my room to pack. Inside I felt betrayed, jealous, annoyed. I could not stay in the same house as this traitor, hero fan girl, idiot flower hippy.

"E..." Rachel notices I am hurt and frowns. She hurries after me.

I continue to walk, not wanting to deal with her for the rest of the night. "Emily!" Rachel repeated louder. What did she want of me? I could not have already ruined her date night, and so what if I did! I presumed she would let me go, let me run away. A sharp twist of my arm, brings me back to her. I look her start in the eye. "Emily, tell me what this is all about." Her eyes looked at me with some type of concern. I knew it had to be fake, what else could it be.

I roll my eyes, staying quiet. "What is what about." Although, I might have been acting childish I knew I was in the right here. How dare Rachel act like I am some diva.

"Really?" She paused, to see if I was serious. No way in hell am I talking with a hero so close. She knows that, why her gaze shifts over to the window. The fire escape rested just outside. Her green nightgown twirled in the wind as we stepped outside. Rachel felt a strange mixture of concern and annoyance toward me, finding herself unsure of how to deal with my mood swings at this point, "Tell me what this is about, the gala, your outbursts."

I stood, leaning up against the railing. "What what is about exactly!" I snide, bitterly mocking her. "Oh the fact, you've been lying to me since the moment you stepped back into Gotham? Have you been trying to set me up?"

"E, you're my friend why would I be doing that?" She spoke calmly, trying to keep both their tempers subdued. However that only ticked me off more.

"Stop it! Stop acting like I'm some paranoid patient at Arkham you must know what I am talking about!"

"Really Emily. You really want me to believe that your so petty, and all this is because I am dating Dick Grayson?" I stayed quiet, wondering what lie would come out of her mouth. There had to be one. "So what E? I have a boyfriend. That's not a bad thing, you know, being social."

"You believe I am so foolish don't you Rachel... You think I am an imbecile. I know he was Robin, He is Nightwing. What?! Did you become a traitor too? You are setting me up!"

Her eyes clicked with fear when I spoke that out loud. Her attitude disappeared, " I thought your father...you told me you couldn't look under the mask..." Her words stuttered together as Rachel became flustered in her friend finding out her boyfriends true identity.

"He's Nightwing too...Isn't he?" I run my hand through my hair, trying to catch my breath. My temper snapped on her. "ISN'T HE!"

Rachel looked down, she nodded. No more, did she ask how I put it together or knew. The answer seemed obvious. "You ran off with him that night, you had me believe you were in danger."

"I'm sorry E."

"You ditched me for him when I needed you."

A long pause.

"I trusted you."

"You wouldn't have understood." Rachel sighed, knowing that there was no way I could understand.

The worst part was I understood too well. Rachel loved him and it pisses me off "Now tell me, are you setting me up."

"Why do you keep asking that?! E! It's me! I would never betray your trust like that." Rachel reassured, however I knew better than to believe her. No longer will I play the fool. "I mean, you've known me for years. Why haven't you accepted the fact-"

"I have known my dad all my life, yet he used me." I say sourly, her expression changed.

"What?"

I sigh, sitting up on the railing. "Before you came back, he used me...threw me to the wolves."

"E, I'm sorry" She spoke really meaning it as she put a hand on my shoulder. Rachel knew it was nothing new, but found it odd that I finally admitted to it. "He's done this before, I told you, you need to get away from him...-"

My eyes felt swollen, like I was about to cry."He broke me...I was nothing more than some tool to him...The day his plan came, everyone else knew it was I to be the fool. Afterwards, I stayed casted as the part and lost..." My words trail off.

"Lost what Em?"

Em. That's what Jason would call me. The word rang in my ear with a hint of nostalgic feeling to it. I paused, feeling the wind pick up outside. A new storm, which was headed to Gotham, would begin shortly. I could not tell Rachel what happened. She leaned up against the railing, not forcing another word out of me. In panic, I ran inside.

"The nightmares you have been having, they are related to your father..."

I nod.

"Emily- you haven't had nightmares this bad since-" I cringe knowing what she was going to say. "since... your mother..." Rachel put it together, not who died but what I experienced. The redhead swallowed her words.

I nod, looking ahead. Photographic memory may be good for reading codes, maps or signs, but never memories.

The two of us were united in silence, as I looked down. I did not want her to ask the inevitable question that made my stomach ache. She knew it was not my father, the man still had an his underground in Gotham. Rachel also knew it couldn't be Jesse, which lead her ask the all too painfully simple question, "Who?"

I couldn't speak, my eyes felt heavy as I looked away. My body fell back on my bed, feeling sickened with the thought. Rachel looked at me, sadden. She knew all of this stemmed somewhere, and finally had discovered the source. It took a while for me to respond, but I was finally able to spit out the words that were eating at me for so long. "Jason Todd." The name escapes my lips. I pause, realizing how long it has been since I said his name.

The name sounded familiar to Rachel, as she heard it once before. In fact, he was the reason her and Dick returned to Gotham. Grayson wanted to be present for his funeral and to make sure Bruce was okay. Rachel did not understand how his circle and her friend's could connect with the same person. She was clueless as she asked, "Who's that? A mark?"

I pause, knowing how hard this was going to be for her to understand. I could never say it to her, I could not let the words escape my lips. She would never believe that I dated a Robin. I would be a joke...than again, I already am. I pointed to my pillow. "Under there."

Ashamed and with hurt pride, every night I slept with Jason's cape beneath my pillow. The lingering scent of him overpowered the haunting smell of fire left on the cape. The cape let me feel comfort in having it and kept the nightmares away.

Rachel did not see anything at first, but noticed the fabric sticking out of the bottom of her pillow case. She pulled it, revealing the black metalic color. Her expression stayed confused. "Is this a cape?" Her question paused as the light bulb went off. "Wait you don't wear capes..." Her hands traced over the side of the cape, finding the logo of Robin. "The logo...it's Robin's" My head lowered in shame. "E did you kill Robin? Are afraid your dad will be mad at you?"

I sigh, sitting on the end of the bed. "I didn't kill him."

"I don't understand.."

"The Batman thinks I got him killed, and in a way he is right."

"Em."

"Rachel, Jason Todd was Batman's second Robin. I did not know this, because of my father's rule."

"Never look under the mask, it is a form of cheating only advise to those who are foolish minded." Rachel repeated rolling her eyes,

"Precisely, I met Jason when I came back to Gotham. I went undercover as myself and my father gave me a mission. He did not tell me the goal. I just stayed working at Wayne Enterprises"

"So how does his death tie into play with you?"

"We started dating, us both unaware of each other's other lives-"

"E! Oh no..." She hugged me, shattering the last wall of stability I had up. Silent tears fell from my face, hugging her back. I spill what happened between us out, words coming faster then I would ever imagine.

"I killed him, I killed him Rachel, I fell in love with him and because of me he died...' Her hand runs through my hair, trying to calm me as my breathing shortened. I find myself breaking down, no strength left in me to even try and pretend.

"Shhh it's not your fault E...I'm sure it's not your fault."

After 5 minutes of crying like the pathetic fool I am, I felt that sadness turn into rage. "THEN BRUCE HAS THE GALL TO REPLACE HIM! Like he didn't exist! Just like he did with the first Robin. He doesn't give a fuck about them, yet claims to be better than all of us!"

Rachel wasn't sure that was true, knowing how close him and Grayson were. Sure, they did not share the same ideals, but she knew Grayson respected him. "E.."

"No let me finish Batman,Bruce, needs to be stopped. He sent me into that horrid asylum and I missed my one chance to say goodbye to Jason. He even had the Oracle cover their tracks so I can't find his grave." My hands balled into fists.

"Maybe I can find out for you...I'm sure Dick-"

"That's not the point. Bruce brought Jason to his death, he didn't protect him. Him and my father, Kane and the Joker are all to blame."

She sighed, realizing what my plan for the party had been all along. "This is why you wanted Bruce's party to be a target, and why you have to go in as a server...He knows your face."

"It's worse than that." I sigh, regrettable I decide to tell her the truth. "The commissioner has a police report out on Emily Nashton."

"What?! He knows too! E!" Rachel flips out, just like I thought she would. I try to calm her down, reassuring her the moment she sprang from her seat.

"No. No! It's not like that. It's under missing person case, and domestic violence. He thinks Emily has been abducted by her abusive boyfriend."

"What?!" She looks at me like I am crazy.

"Long story, but Jason and I got into a fight, and someone made it look like-nevermind- it's not the point. The point is I just have to stay away from him until Enigma arrives."

"Yeah, so you're not making Bruce a distraction, you're going directly after the Batman."

"That's the plan."

"So when, if, he steps forward, what do you do? Hope he doesn't call you out as Emily and I as Rose."

"No, you'll keep Grayson distracted. You'll take his place in the con from my original plan. Therefore the spotlight will be on him to keep his girlfriend alive, and you will be playing along so it does not look like I know your Rose. He will think you have no part in it." I look back down at the plan, realizing how much harder and more complexed I made it. Rachel and I both knew the plan seemed suicidal to start with, my new adjustments made it so much harder.

"But what if he calls you out as Emily?" Rachel repeats, not looking me in the eyes.

I close my eyes a second, that name scared me. It promises a normal life I could never live. The name may have been the one given to me by birth but it will always feel fake. "I don't mind, no one knows or even cares about Enigma, but Batman has a lot of people. He can't hide from them all."

"So if he comes out as Batman..." I could tell Rachel was trying to figure out what this meant for Dick and her. I knew I couldn't enlist her to the same fate as my own.

"You really don't want him hurt do you?" Rachel nodded, "That's why you agreed to my plan. You're keeping him safe."

"I have no feud with a Nightwing at this time, he's not the one I want...I won't hurt your boyfriend." I hugged Rachel, making me feel both better and worse. I wish I had that option. "I know it's suicidal, and I shouldn't have even asked you to join but-"

Rachel saw the pain in her friend's eyes, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Richard. "Don't worry, we'll do this." She said, giving a small smile.

"Really?"

"Duh! You know I like giving the bats a hard time."

I smile, maybe I really did have a friend in Rachel.


	11. Welcome Back Grayson

"Rachel, I'm in." The words fell from my lips as I entered through the back wing of the Wayne Manor. I blended with the staff, wearing a brunette wig, which was pulled back into the pony tail. I knew Bruce would be looking for me, specifically. I avoided the security scanned by switching places with the server, who I stole my I.D. off of. My eyes made contact with Rachel, noticing her enter with her handsome escort. Richard Grayson, the man of the hour, wore a sharp navy tux, with a teal tie. Who could expect anything else from Gotham's wonder boy.. Rachel flashed a smile, unable to speak. I knew she could hear me, as I gave her custom improved earrings. The back ends of the studs had the same capabilities as my earbuds. We put the communication path in place in case something went horribly wrong.

My eyes seek the best exit route when I hear a voice call out from behind me. "Pardon me Miss, may I have a drink?"

I pause, noticing the champagne glasses I carried in my other hand. Keeping with the act, I nod. "Of course Sir." It took everything out of me not to panic as I turned around. Commissioner Gordon stood directly behind me. I would drink too if I had to keep everyone safe tonight. My heart pounding in my chest, I hand over the glass. "Have a nice night."

His head tilts as his eyes met mine, the glass shakes slightly, "Do I know you?"

Dammit! The wig is not enough to hide my identity. I knew I should have worn those colored contacts, or glasses or something. What an imbecile am I! I shake my head, acting confused. "I don't think so-" I turn to leave, feeling his eyes still on me. In one way or another he knew. I had to stay away from him, I did not need any pestering questions from the Commissioner tonight.

That's the last of me actually being a sever tonight. A greater job awaited me, for tonight I destroy the Batman legacy. Rachel did her part, keeping Bruce and her 'Dick' away from my line of work. I knew Alfred or Batgirl monitored these camera's so I kept my face hidden. The blueprints I bought off the black market were a perfect help for they seemed completely accurate. With no one watching, I slip into a blind spot. Away from cameras and security for the time being. I lock the door. It may look like I am slipping into the library of Wayne Manor, but I knew better. All of this was a cover for the computer server box. To not waste time, I did my research back at Rose's apartment. The book I was looking for was the Odyssey.

 _"Remember E, when you get back there you have maybe 5 minutes before the guards rotate around. You have to do whatever you are doing with their electric box in 4 minutes and 30 seconds or your roast."_

Rachel's wise words repeated themselves in my mind. She had no clue how hard it was to hack into anywhere this big in 4 minutes, and plant your own cues, let alone Wayne Manor. Considering it is the residency of the Batman, the code encryption was none slight of mastermind could crack. Luckily, I have been hacking since I could walk. It was not the easiest of cases, because I had to go slower than normal. The oracle was online, aka a cry baby batgirl who still wants to make herself useful despite being a crippled weakling. Ugh, I hate that redhead. 2 minutes. 2 minutes and my cellphone just connected. Fingers steadily grazed against the keyboard.

"So where did Bruce go?" Rachel turned on her comms, granting me access to her conversation. I figured this was her way to warn me I needed to leave.

"He's just checking something out, why?" Coincidence or did he notice the blind spot. I disconnect with a minute to spare. I am about to leave to my exit when temptation presents itself to me. Why not make the Bats a little more worried tonight. I toss my brown wig to the ground, along with the fake ID badge I used to get in. A little change in plans never goes wrong.

"Dick just left, you have less than 30 seconds Em. Get out of there!"

• ~ • ~ • ~• ~ •

Bruce hurries to the door, he knows something is off. The oversight was rare, a glitch or someone's plan. He could have sworn the staff was told to add camera's in that corridor. He knew the Riddler's daughter would take advantage of it if she dared show up tonight. He knew her rage was dangerous, and the outcome could result in many innocent lives taken, which is why he did not assume she would stay away from the party.

"It's locked.." He mutters in the comms, preparing himself for what was beyond the door. Bruce checks to see if anyone is watching before giving it a good shove, knocking it open. To his dismay the room is empty, servers fried beyond restoration. On the ground is a brunette wig, catching his attention. He did not need to see Enigma's face to know it was her, "She's here." He whispered, placing a hand to his ear as he stepped inside. He picked up the wig carefully, noticing an ID fall out. A perfect replica of the original badges he personally gave out, same magnetic strip coding and everything. If she had this ID, what else did she have?

"If it's locked she must still be in there." Richard added as he moved to get his date punch. He told Rachel he would stay out the Nightwing suit for the night. There was something up with her, a secret, and he hoped this would get her to trust him enough so he could make sure no one got hurt.

"I am not sure..." Bruce tilted his head, deep in thought. The Riddler at least left clear riddles for them, Enigma just gave fractured puzzles, mysteries. Bruce lurked around the room, searching for Enigma. This was too easy, Enigma would have her times planned out to a tee, why would she let herself be caught. Unless...Bruce notices something that pulls him in closer to the wall. "Barbara, ask Alfred what passages the old Library had before we turned it into a server room."

"You think she fled?" Tim asked, standing down the hallway. He was looking out for the media, making sure they did not follow Bruce. He did not understand how the Riddler's daughter knew about the secret Library in the first place. He didn't.

"Master Bruce, the library has a two ways out, a vent located beneath the desk in the center of the room, and a passage that I doubt your parents even knew about."

Moving two steps closer to the desk, he expects to see her in case she was actually there. His doubt was correct as the vent appeared empty. "Where is that.." Bruce says, bending down toward the vent. The screws were still on.

"Why I don't know for certain Master Bruce, give me a second."

"What do you see Bruce?" Barbara asked.

"Unless she found a way to make it look like this was untouched, the thing has layers of dust on it. I doubt Enigma took this route out."

Alfred stood beside Barbara highly offended, he dusted every day. "Master Bruce I have that information for you. The location is behind the primary sources section, under mining if I recall, however, it is a terrible hard sequence to remember how to open-I am not sure if I have the code."

He left the vent, eyes following to the nonfiction where he notice a gap in the shelf. "It's opened already.." Bruce frowned, the book the Da Vinci Code had stopped it from shutting all the way. Enigma's first mistake, Bruce thought, figuring she moved too fast to see this book had prevented the door to close.

"That means-"Tim paused, his eyes widening as he took a nonalcoholic drink from the sever in front of him.

"That means she acquired the original blueprints to our Manor somehow." Bruce sighed, the thought that an insane and murderous girl had access to anywhere in the manner, away from the camera's was not a calming thought. "I'm going in."

"That's a labyrinth sir." Alfred added

Bruce as stubborn as always, ignored Alfred, "Babs can you pull up the old files, I need navigation"

"Sir, the guest are bound to know you are gone if you're absent any longer..."

"I can do it." Tim said, resting his glass back down on the table. He headed back to the Library.

"Let him do it Bruce, I can walk him through, plus with his size it'll be easier to handle it's obstacles."

"Fine.." Bruce nodded, moving out of the room. His eyes focused on the crowd, any fast movement. _What are you up to Enigma?_ He questioned, feeling a bit uneasy at the moment.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Dick just left, You have less than 30 seconds Em"

I grin, time for everything to fall into place. With the vent already awaiting for me I crack open the secret passage. It was simple since I spent hours solving the sequence, memorizing it to save time. _Now for a riddle that would withstand time, allowing Bruce a little hint._ I think to myself, placing my favorite book into the crack of the opening, making it appear like it had fallen. But really, what would a Dan Brown book be doing in the nonfiction section. The only conclusion Bruce could make, unless he's foolish to believe it fell, is that I have to give some clue for my mice, or should I say bird, to follow in my experiment. How else will the they know I have the blueprints. I see the door handle shake, just as I set the book down. I race under the desk, hoping my diversion of the wig and ID distracts him long enough. Silently, I start to lock myself in the vent. Each screw had to go back in place. One dropped screw and I will be, well, screwed. I hear Rachel, holding her breath. This was the second most dangerous part of my plan. I had no time as my thin hand slips through the cracks, resealing myself in. The plan would not work unless they assume I took that passage. Bruce and his fools needed to believe I was in the maze, inside the walls of this manor. I put the tool I used to twist the screws between my teeth, in order to take out a small vial from my pocket.

Dust, the one touch that will prevent them from splitting up and looking for me. I hold my breath, knowing I would get a lot in my face as it is dumped down onto the vent. _Don't sneeze, Don't sneeze._  
His footsteps grow near as I hear him asking about possible exits. I think small, shoving myself to the side of the vent. I had no time to move down the shaft without being heard.

I listen, grinning cockily the whole time. He took my bait, they all fell for my plan. Now Tim would enter the maze, leading him to center stage when it came time.  
"I can hear ego growing E, stop smiling and hurry up, your death wish isn't over yet." Rachel whispers, making me smile even more. I am sure she remembers the conversation we had yesterday.

 _"How the hell do you know that Tim will be the one in the Maze?"_

 _"Simple, the media, and Alfred will keep Bruce out in public. The Oracle can't go cause she is monitoring cameras, and lastly Richard will be too preoccupied with you. Plus Tim is desperate to make a good name for himself."_

 _"If you say so, that's a lot of ifs. How do you know Bruce will even go to check out the oversight.."_

 _"I know everything Rachel, haven't you learned that already?"_

Although ditching a wig was not a part of my original plan. I knew I would not have to be disguised as the server much longer. Enigma would be arriving soon. My Enigma gear was stashed in a safe spot, thanks to my charmspeaking plant lover of a friend. She had access to the manor ahead of time, allowing me to plant, pun intended, some of the items I need most. All that was left was to move across the room and retrieve it, simple as that. Rachel would help with Grayson, Bruce had his thoughts elsewhere, and Tim was gone. It would not be too- My eyes catch a glimmer of a silhouette in the crowd. Dark brown hair, blue eyes, I could have sworn the man was Jason. My lips part in shock as I push aside those who got in my way. "Excuse me, Excuse me..." I try to stay focused, keeping an eye on the moving figure but soon my vision disappears in the crowd, replaced by a man who looked nothing like Jason.

Am I insane? _Yes! Duh! Idiot, How can you be so foolish Emily, Jason is dead._ I know but it looked like him- _Jason died almost a year ago_. "I need to focus!"I growl softly out loud. _Yeah you need to get your act together Em, or are we finally going back to pops? Convince everyone we're a weakling._

I run a hand through my hair, turning around. I needed to put aside my thoughts of Jason and get to my Enigma costume. I move through the crowd pretty easily. Everyone was headed in the direction of the dance floor, while I am moving toward the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Emily." My head tilts slightly in the direction of the person calling out to me. An instinct most humans, like myself, can not avoid. We are taught at such a young age to bring attention when someone calls are name, it is a hard habit to break. Luckily, I realized that no one good here knew my name. I start to move through the crowd faster, not turning around. I could not let him see my face. My mistake could be crucial if I did not get away from who the voice belong to, the nosey Commissioner. I swear he would not give a shit about Emily if he knew she had ties to the Riddler, or any criminal of Gotham.

As I make a break for it, I hear him behind me, working against the crowd. "Emily, it is you." I do not need to look behind to tell he is following me. Panic consumes me, making my mind work faster. Time to move up the plan, I reach down to the bracelet locked around my wrist, placing my finger at the center. The sound of shotguns break out behind me, making us all take cover. I dive out of the way, sliding beneath the table.

Shit.


	12. Checkmate

Riddle me this, Have you ever heard of those firecrackers that you could throw to the ground when you were a child. They would pop loudly, making everyone jump. That's what that noise you heard was, a little genius engineering. Any glasses I gave out tonight, along with my fellow servers had decorations on the bottom of them. Tied together with what I call virtual rope. The string gets weaker as the night goes on, when the rope falls it releases these little poppers, making them fall to the ground, which sounds like shotguns. Genius right?

Therefore, while everyone was taking cover, I disappeared to change into my Enigma costume. My phone took ahold of the entertainment, setting up center stage for me. As I change, riddles start to flash around the room (from the boxes located throughout the hall) Most of them were nonsense, some very dark humored to scare the Bats. Not all of them were faulty, some were about betrayal, lies, death and identity. Giving Bruce a preview of tonight's festivities. I controlled the security, which gladly provided to keep me in check. I locked everyone in. Everyone except Tim, my maze runner, who will play a key part later on.

"Welcome All!" I smile, flipping off the rafter on the stage. "Anyone care for a riddle?" I tease, mocking my father if he was listening. I glare into the news cameras.. "Come on! Don't you want a riddle, I am told people love the foolish things."

A shaky camera person nods, making me smile. I tilt my head, pointing to Bruce before he could get away."Come on up, don't be shy . I am sure you've met enough of us to know, we don't bite." I tap my chin, "Oh yes, the riddle you're waiting on. See as my father is overly attached to them- Hi Pops- I am more intrigued by mysteries. In case you can not tell due to my name. Riddles are boring, give you too many clues. Only a fool asking to go to Arkham would do such thing." I see Rachel's eyes widen as I keep speaking. Oh I never told her I was going to diss my father in the middle of all this, probably pissing him off as well. Whoops. Hopefully his response team won't kill me before this is over.

All the lights were on Bruce and Richard, cameras too for that matter. No way they could whisper anything to their Oracle without the nation seeing it. This was some special effect, as my friend Rachel slipped a device in their pockets long ago that keeps the lights focused on them. "Come on you two, don't dottle, I would like you two to get up here before Batman and Nightwing do." The words left my mouth with a tone that made Bruce cringe. I could seee the rage flicker on his upper left eyebrow. Awe, the perks of knowledge.

"And if we don't?" Richard Grayson says, crossing his arms. He did not see a weapon, or even a threat of a young teenage girl.

"I am sorry, did I forget to mention. You guys are all players of my mystery night right now, some of your guests have a bomb in their hands. The glassware, I would not let it go of those cocktail glasses if you're holding one. Could detonate if you release it, I had no time to perfect those things." The crowd started to become nervous at my words. "I am pretty sure your date there is holding one...perhaps she might test it by letting go?" Rachel gets a nervous look on her face, like we planned. Nightwing knew me and Rose were friends, but not that we knew each other out of character. This part was to make her look innocent to all of this. Luckily neither Bruce or Richard knew of it being false. They approached the stage.

"Don't worry, all the doors are locked because Mr. Wayne is nice enough to electronically modernize his home." I taunt as the two get up on stage. "A hacker's dream really."

"Enigma." Bruce glares at me as he sits down.

"That's my name, right ." I grin, "Please, if you wish take a seat... I know this experiment of mine might take a while."

"Experiment?" Grayson tilted his head, like expected neither Wayne nor Grayson took a seat.

"Alrighty, you all ready to learn something for once in your foolish lifes? My experiment is to discover where is the Bat? Simple enough. You know Batman always rescues you all. Drop the timer please..." Acting like I am working with more than just myself right now, a electronic clock is flashed on the ceiling. "You see, I have this timer set up here and with every ding something bad happens tonight, oh but that is really so cliche, no mystery at all. I hate boring things. The fun part is that Mr. Wayne here will be the last to die, unless the Batman shows to take me back to Arkham."

"I don't believe her! This glassware can not just be activated bomb by touch. It's glass." A man in the audience calls out. I may have hinted to him as a server this glassware was safe. An hour ago, I left the suggestion in his head that this was 's trick and the winner to realize it would receive money prize. The man tries to make a point to himself as the lights move to him. Bruce's eyes widen, trying to conjure a plan. It was too late. The idiotic man lets go and-  
Kaboom.

Before Bruce or Grayson can react restraints are casted upon them. The electronic device that keeps the lights on them also provide an attraction to metal, meaning my metal restraints work perfectly, keeping them in a magnetic field so they can not move.

"Now we wait for the bats to come, or the bats will be at fault for killing all you guys." I laugh, acting calm. Hopefully on bomb in the glassware would be enough for the rest to not test theirs out."But when has Batman ever not saved you all, he's always around, watching. I have plans to stay in Arkham tonight, but do you all have plans to go to hell?" That should keep them in line.

"E." Bruce says, trying not to bring any more attention on himself.

Of course I reply loudly, trying to keep everyone's attention."Wow does the know my nickname? I'm impressed." I lean in. "Yes?"

"These people are innocent, kill me but let them free."

"Than you win, I don't give a shit about killing you. I want you to suffer." I turn off my mic, lowering my voice. "Suffer like I did as you locked me away, forced me to miss Jason's funeral! You pushed him away, and didn't do anything about his killer." I glare, shoving him back down in his chair as I watched my timer tick down. "Now you know how to save them. Until then sit down billionaire, cause no regular human can escape your binds."

4-3-2-1

Nothing happened, I tilt my head staring at the crowd. "Did you all really think my mysteries would be timed? Are you guys idiotic enough not to understand the standard definition of a mystery. No, No the real time will be counted with how many bodies that are left by the time Batman shows." I press down on my cell phone, which served as the master control. The lights scanned the crowd, allowing me to watch as some guests faces pale, their drink obviously poisoned earlier ago. The poison was practically acid to their stomach, making their death painful to even watch. I look away, back to the dazzling lights on Bruce and Grayson. Neither looked happy,

"Where ever could your Tim be?" I coo in a taunting fashion. "A maze perhaps?" I smile, walking to the other end of the stage. I place a small box at the other end, on the click of a button it turns into a cage. "I wonder what bird will fit in here.." I smile. Seconds later I shoot up at the ceiling tile with my pistol, hoping my timing was right. That was really what the clock was for, not the poison.

A yell came from the ceiling, but no bird. "Hmm..." I tap my pistol, shooting at the ceiling again. Hopefully this was the spot I wanted. "Perfect!" A bird shot in the left arm falls from the sky, otherwise known as ceiling. Tim's maze had lead him to a dead end, that timed perfectly with hints I left him. One moment he was racing forward to an Enigma hologram, the next he found himself in a bird cage. "Can anyone interrupt this mystery for me? A boy in a bird cage..."

"Enigma." Bruce said warningly, he was clearly uncomfortable. He and Grayson knew what I was hinting at. Luckily for them Gothamites are idiots.

Commissioner Gordon had enough, stepping forward. No longer did he wait for the Batman and Robin. "GCPD Enigma drop the device."

"That's cute, really it is. You and...four cops and two secret service agents are going to what? Arrest me?"

"That's what police do." Funny how fast a person can change from wanting to help Emily to wanting to kill Enigma.

"You really think I wouldn't have planned your ever move? That I wouldn't have put something in place for you and your men if you came up on stage? I shall not answer those questions but you can easily find out by coming up here to arrest me. See what happens to ." I flash a smile, which makes Commissioner Gordon step back a little. Rachel looked concern, watching the confrontation. All I could think while I spat off the last rant was Shit, oh Shit how could you not plan for the police you fool. You should have known Gordon would he here. Dammit E.

Before Tim could even speak a green powder sprayed out at him. He clutched his wounded wing before falling in a deep slumber. I can thank Rose for that sleeping powder, from a special relaxation herb.

"Now , The only way I will allow this to stop is if Batman comes to take me to Gotham. Until then it's their blood that's on his hands. All he has to do is answer the call you made when I first answered. I know the signal is on and he always guards these events. In fact I think Vicky Vale even got Bruce to admit the Batman would ensure this party was safe. So where is he? 10 are dead. The next body count will only increase rapidly until he takes me to Arkham. That's all I want. The Batman to show up and take me to Arkham."

On that note I turn to Bruce, who remains looking straight out at the crowd.

I smile, bending down to whisper in his ear. It was hard to get a reaction from the Batman or Bruce. I wanted his nerves to build. Therefore, I decided to key him into my plan. "Don't worry Bruce, if Batman doesn't show up by the time there is only ten survivors left. I will let you go, you only. National television will stay. To see if when you disappear the Batman will arise, or if he will continue to let me kill off the last ten, including your young ward."

No reply came from the billionaire. Nonetheless, I knew he was aware of the reality of the situation I put him in. He had no control. Even better, Bruce knew he had been tricked into giving up control. I could see him frustrated behind that plain expression of his. Neither Bruce nor Batman had a safe move left.

Checkmate.


	13. Never Wake A Sleeping Psychopath

~Kane~

A dark deserted road lead to the only colorful building near by. The place happened to look broken down but had a light purple roof to it. The lair was a gathering place for Joker's henchmen, and Kane's new home. He had a nice suite in the basement of the building. Tired from dealing with his stubborn friend, the Batman, and his boss' commands, a bloody Kane was passed out on his couch. A toasted fire warmed up the room, a perk the other henchmen did not have. Times have become colder as Gotham approached winter. His green greased up hair was rattled, messed up for he had been taking a nap.

Loud steps approached as Kane rolled to his side. Kane slept with a knife in hand, which made it all the more terrifying for the goons to approach. The idiots better not dare to wake-

"Boss..." A hand dared to touch his shoulder. Not even a second later his knife went straight through the goon that dared to touch his hand.

"This better be good." I chuckled, as my eyes opened with a glare.

"Boss, that Riddles girl you had us huntin' she is on the television."

Bored, I act uninterested. "The Wayne Ball I presume-" I knew she would be there, trying to get herself killed. I re-close my eyes, trying not to focus too much on the idiotic goon. "So? I don't really give a fuck about the nerds death, less work for us. Move along." I play it off cool, but in reality I could not watch her death. After years of following her, working along side of her, and even being her guardian for a few weeks it would be too painful. I am not sane. Yet, a part of me wanted to sneak into the event tonight, and spy on her. Old habits die hard I guess. I knew Enigma long enough to know that she was not thinking straight. Her plan would get her killed. Too bad if I even hinted at showing up she would be looking for me though.

"But sir it looks like she took on a Wayne Event head on, and alone." The goon said, sounding quite shocked. Enigma was smart, I knew she would find a way in, out was the hard part. Batman would be there in seconds if no one _else_ got to her first.

"So?" I groan, wanting to go back to sleep. I roll on my other side, curling up to my knife like a teddy bear.

"It's hilarious." Marked goon number 2.

"She called out the Riddler."

No response, besides me gripping my knife tighter. Really? Only takes her to be obsessed about a Robin for her to actually leave that man.

"And she has the whole situation under control."

"I think she's an idiot" A second goon interrupted him. "Trying to take on a Wayne event on her own. Those are heavily guarded by Bats."

My knife finds its way into this goon's chest by the time I open my eyes. "Why? wHY!?" I feel rage, my temper shortening. "Why do you think she's an idiot? Because she's actually doing something fun on a Friday night besides BOTHERING THEIR LEADER!" I skin his skin from his neck, ripping it open in such a manor the other two goons backed away.

"Why aren't any of you searching for our other problem?" I glare, hoping to change the topic. A new rouge has been sabotaging our projects, killing our men. He has been making the Joker really unhappy. We should be focused in the Red guy, rather then Baby Riddles.

The goon must have not heard my question, too focused in the excitement going on in the present. "I think what he was trying to say Sir. With all due respect. The Enigma is asking for the Batman and all the heroes to come in to stop her. She's just killing off people til they come. She told them the only way she would stop if Bats took her to Arkham"

"and?"I groan, stepping off the couch to turn on the tv. It became obvious that the goons would not shut up until I either killed them or took a peak about what was going on with Em.

As the news flashes on the goon provides insight, "It's been an hour and a half and the Batman is a no show."

I ignore him, keeping my focus on the screen. Of course Enigma stood in the front in center but- but her hostages..."Wait let me watch, rewind." E! That girl is a genius. She may be front and center but she is sharing the spotlight. She has Bruce, little Dicky Bird, and what I can assume is the new Robin, front in center. The camera and spotlights were focused on each of them.

Batman can not show up unless Bruce reveals himself, along with all the others. I grin, laughing more and more. Baby Riddles may be insane and have a death wish but that girl, she was something. I could see how much Bruce hated her, hated this. He was helpless to watching everyone in that room suffer. She even had the balls to taunt him to his face. I could see it, my Enigma, the one before Richie messed her up. I jump giddily at the T.V. My new favorite show. "Oh my baby riddles, always so smart. All the attention is on our two favorites... letting them take the fall... "I break out into laughter shooting the goon who interrupted me of my nap. I turn to the last one, who is utterly terrified. "Get me a pepsi and my machete. We are going to that Party, we are going to help my little E escape."


	14. How Dare You Crash My Crashed Party!

Screams, Silence, Screams, Silence. A wonderful pattern if you ask me. Approximately half remained alive, not counting a concern Rachel along with my hostages. Personally, I could not tell if she was acting or actually concern I happened to be pushing my hand to far.

Silence.

The room fell into a deep silence as the groans of the dead faded. The socialites were too scared to talk as if it would trigger another attack. They were only pawns, they could do no damage of that magnitude. Bruce's attempts to reason with me ceased. Am I the only one who starts to overthink when silence is upon a room. The question: Why? Or What if, begins to haunt me.

For instance, Why has Grayson remained silent since I pulled him into a hostage situation. He, who done nothing wrong or knew that I was aware of his identity, did not even attempt to reason with me. I stare at him for a second, making eye contact with Grayson. I will only refer to the man as Grayson because I refuse to refer to the once Robin as Dick. Such an idiotic name indeed. DUH! He was the first Robin! Why did I not see this earlier. The first Robin was brilliant with technology, actually forcing me work against his coding. Grayson must have realized how my device functioned by now and he was escaping! Oh no, I could not let that happen.

I slide my finger up my phone, commanding my special effects to keep the audience 'entertained'while I motioned to speak with him. Green gas sprayed out from the other corner of the room. The gas was harmless, however the guests did not know that.

Screams.

Meanwhile, I smile, bending down to whisper in his ear. "Yes it is a magnetic field Nightwing but-" Across the room I could see Rachel glaring at me. Before I speak, I turn off my connection with her. I did not need her input, nor her listening to what I was about to say. "-not many normal people would know that...only the first Robin and now vigilante." I grinned, stepping back. I waited to see a shock on his face, yet he did not give me the satisfaction. The only thing to do would be to push harder. "You really should thank Bruce for letting me know your little secret. Now your girlfriend would be an excellent target if everyone knew your identity."

"You don't know that." Dick Grayson aka Nightwing responses.

"Maybe I don't." I step back, keeping a calm tone about me."-but she will at least look like a traitor. I don't think people at Arkham take traitors well..I can recall her mother trying to kill the Cat over something rather similar" I flash a knowing smile. Sure, I kind of just showed him my cards. Revealing the fact I was aware Rachel was Rose, which was something Rachel specifically told me not to do. However, I wanted to see him frazzled.

Nightwing just shakes his head, unphased. "By that logic, you were a traitor once, Emily."

My smile disappears in an instant. How did he? I stare at him a second, trying to figure out where he got my name from. Bruce could have told him, but he did not tell Tim so how would Grayson know. My brief lapse of confusion must have made him amused, "Come on give me some credit. Bruce may not remember, but I do."

It clicks. How he knew my name. I pretended not to recall such a foolish mistake. "Remember what?"

"I'm sure you know how I know Enigma, otherwise what is the use of that photographic memory you keep reminding us about."

I scratch the back of my neck. What the once Robin was recalling was the night of my disobedience from long ago. That night when I snuck down the stairs, first laid eyes on the so called dynamic duo. That night when my father almost killed me by strapping me to a bomb to my three year old self. Alfred...Alfred was the other contestant, which now made sense. From that time on my father had known. My father had known for years Bruce's identity. I felt ill. My idiotic three year old self had told Robin my name, before the police had arrived because of how startled I was.

"Well I guess there were many times that psycho father of yours almost got you killed, must be hard to remember a specific incident." He chimed in.

I back hand him hard, "leave him out of this."

"Always a weak spot for your dad, tell me why I should let you kill these people and stay perfectly still sitting in my chair."

"You tell my identity, I will tell the world yours, both of yours. Rachel may be safe, but Bruce and yourself have a tons of burnt bridges. I guarantee you both will be hunted."

I turn my back to him, really ready to start killing people as I stalked back to the side of the stage. "Jason would be so proud." I hear him mutter in background.

Jason, my father, anyone who knew the old Enigma would laugh at how pathetic I have become. The reality of the situation around us was far from what it appeared to be. Here's a little secret of my own: the amount of people I apparently killed tonight is not actually that large. Yes, there was the man who dropped the glass. He was a electronic parts specialist who secretly worked for my father. He is dead. Than there were those 10 poisoned folks, however, each of them were rich and had some funding going towards the Joker operations. The other events like the deadly gas, only knocked them out, making them appear dead for 24 hours. I did not touched a single person who didn't deserve it. I could not just kill them despite the annoying Enigma voice in my head.  
 _Just kill them all_. She repeated. _Than you would not have to worry about the Batman anymore._ I can not kill Grayson, I promised Rachel I would not touch him. _Than kill her too you idiot! She can not be mad if she's dead._ No! I need someone to trust, I have too many enemies. _Yes, but if Batman fails to call your idiotic bluff than what are you going to do._ I know, I need to start killing the innocent victims-it's just-

Silence.

"Wait a minute..." I say outloud, noticing something rather odd that caught my eye. Maybe silence does make me to overthink but that shadow near the pillar looked awfully large. Just as I thought it may only be paranoia, my eyes caught a glimmer of red. Before I could say anything precise trained marksmen shots rained down upon the crowd. I go to duck, before noticing the shots were not aimed at me. The kill shots towards several rich men. "Who's there!" I growl, having my gun in my hand since the first shot. How dare someone take an assassin job in the middle of my hostage standoff. "Not very wise for an assassin, considering you're locked in the room with the very psychopath you pissed off by disturbing her plan."

Screams.

Shots fired throughout the crowd again. He wasn't listening, was he? This time the shots were random like he was trying to hide his location."Sniper." I whisper quietly, noticing the angle that the shots hit their victims. Smart gunsman, one shot per kill. Stupid of someone with such talent to test me here. "I hate party crashers, how about you all?" I speak in my microphone, eyeing Grayson and Bruce to see if this was their doing. I try to think of a way to get the red marksman to show himself. "Hello imbecile, you see this is kind of my game. I don't like people killing off MY pawns." I growl as I send 7 shoots in his direction, tilting my pistol so it would wrap behind the pillar. I took a step closer towards the man behind the pillar.

Not even a second after the shots ceased a man in a red helmet and biker jacket rolled out from behind the pillar, attempting to move quickly throughout the crowd. "HEY RUDOLF! IM TALKING TO YOU!" I yell, wasting more of my bullets with an attempt to injury the assassin. He cowards behind a second pillar, and all my patience was gone.

I glare, bending down to my utility belt. A small green circle rested in my hand before angrily throwing the live grenade in his hiding zone. Like I predicted the assassin is forced to jump out into the center of the room. Odd, I usually do not have so many live hostages watching my fight. "What are you supposed to be, an eraser cap? Motorcycle fanatic?"

He smirks, pulling out a second gun and shooting it toward the ceiling tiles. A grappling hook I assume, hurrying for the table closest to me and grabbing a steak knife. I had one shot at this. I throw the knife across the room so it slices his line. The idiot falls back down towards the center of the room. I stalk closer, double checking the amount of bullets I had left in my gun. Not many. "Here's a fun fact for you, since I am the only one in this room capable of speaking" I point my gun at the assassin. I know everyone in this town has there own theme but was his really a stylist biker? I mean-is he supposed to look badass with the whole leather look and red hat. Typical idiot, I bet he grew up watching the T.V. show Jackass. "I hate brainless people like you. But what's worse is I don't tolerate being interrupt-"

Before I could finish a crashing noise came from the ceiling, "Now who's here!" I snarl, looking upwards. Dozens of men dressed in S.W.A.T. gear glide down from the rooftops, breaking the glass ceiling above. I force myself to look down, shielding my eyes from the glass. In that movement I realized I never actually saw the letters S.W.A.T on the back of their bullet proof jackets.I start firing randomly as the men drew closer. UGH! I just want to be left alone and for the world to slow down. Why is that so hard to get. "This is my show! NONE OF YOU IDIOTS WERE INVITED!" I snarl.

The man in the red starts firing back at them as well. Whose side is he on? I pause, narrowing in on the letters on the bulletproof jackets. Normal S.W.A.T gear has the letters S, W, A, and T. However these uniforms spelled out a completely different four letter word. F.U.C.K "Fuck?" I pause, tilting my head. Is this a type of-joke. Kane!

Cornered by two of the foe swat team members I move to pull the trigger. Empty. "Fuck!" I flip over, catching sight of the best kind of art a rich man can have on his wall. An old sword that would function just like a katana if I got my hands on it. I run up the wall behind me to flip over the two joker goons. My first motion is to grab that katana off the wall. The next part was easy, start start slicing their heads off in hopes a green head would roll out.

As I fight a bomb goes off behind me, stunning my hearing in my left ear. A sharp, high pitched, wailing rings about. I look around, who was the dumbass who threw the bomb that generates smoke. Whoever it was, I hate them. The smoke allowed everyone to go ahead and do what they really wanted for my cameras were blinded.

In the corner of my eye I catch Rachel going off script. She runs upstage to help Dick Grayson flee his chains. I am sure Grayson has already broken through the binds, but whatever those lovebirds want to help each other. Fine: it seems my plan has went to shit anyways.

I turn my head to look over at Bruce to see the seat empty. Fuck.

"Enigma." Batman's voice comes from behind me, causing me to jump. That was fast.

I turn around to be greeted by a punch, that sends me backwards. "Nice of you to finally show up Bats." I smirk, wiping the blood off my face.

"It's over Enigma, it is time for you to go back to Arkham."He says as he approaches quickly.

I had one more trick up my sleeve. I hold my phone up, hoping to catch his attention. "One last mystery..." I smirk, sliding my finger down the screen to make a giant green button appear. "What does this button do?" I click it with a small grin. My eyes dart to Tim's cage, causing the Batman's to follow. A counter for 50 seconds appear underneath Tim's cage. At least the Robin listen, staying in his place. I spring to my feet, eyeing the Bat. "Maybe your fourth Robin will have better luck." I run past him, hoping he did not care to follow.

Batman eyes me but goes to save Tim like I suspected he would. He must have assumed there was too much chaos ensuing right now to try and stop me.

Screams.

Screams coming from the citizens the GCPD were grouping together to keep safely-cornered? because that was supposed to help them? Idiots.  
Meanwhile Commissioner Gordon ran to help Bruce escape. Only thing is with the smoke he did not see Bruce has been gone since the chaos started. Chaos indeed for now plants started to reign hell on the Swat team. I am guessing Rachel's boyfriend convinced her now of all times would be good to help out.

As I look to my left I notice the man with the red helmet fleeing. He thought no one would noticed in the smoke, plants, and gunfire him climbing up the side of the wall. Oh like hell he would leave here alive. This was his fault! I tie my sword to my back, deciding it would be best to chase after him. I go unnoticed as I start my chase, moving quickly instead of stealthily.  
Soon he notices my presence and attempts to shoot at me. The first shot alarmed me, but he missed. I knew than that the assassin would not kill me, for he purposely missed that shot. A sniper would only need one shot. Therefore it must have been a scare tactic to try and get me to turn around as he jumped toward the fire escape.

The chilling air makes me shiver as I head out the window. Gotham had gone from a dark city, to one enticed in a blizzard of a storm. It made it hard to see. Luckily for me a bright red helmet stuck out like Rudolph's nose to guide me to my victim. The fallen snow had made the roof slippery as I race after him. My shoes were not ready to be running on ice as I felt myself gliding and sliding across the rooftops. Snow was coming down harder, I had one shot at this. Holding the katana in place with my left hand I start to run, getting enough momentum to try to flip over Red.

 _Shit it wasn't enough_ is all I could think as my landing fails. I fall on my knees hard. The ice is so cold it burns them as I find myself spinning recklessly towards the edge of the roof. I pull my left hand around to jabb the katana into the ice, hoping to stop myself.  
I am in front of him, with one foot hanging off the edge of the roof. My knees are bloody but it's not the only blood I have on me today. My head slowly looks up at the dead man, no way I would let him get away now.

Silently his hands move, but not to his weapon like I would predict. They carefully went to lift his helmet. I eye him, curious and confused to the face that would emerge from beneath. It would be only fair to look the dead man in the eyes as I chop his head off.  
Slowly the red helmet is lifted from his chin, causing the sword to fall from my hands to the snow.

My eyes widen with disbelief, "Th-that's impossible." I gasp, finding myself looking into the blue eyes of the one and only Jason Todd.


	15. One Awkward Reunion

Slowly and hesitantly, I pull myself up using the katana for balance. Blood caked both knees from my reckless tumble. "Jason..." I mutter quietly, keeping a firm hold on my knife. My heart starts beating quickly which causes my hand to shake."It can't be. I saw you die.."

The boy I onced loved tilted his head, holding the stupid bicycle helmet with the other. "And?"

"And-" My voice turned dark as I were skeptical to what I was seeing. "if this is one of my father's cruel tests, or you're actually Clayface here for a sick laugh this knife will be shoved so far up your ass that-"

He smirked, shaking his head. "You haven't changed a bit Em."

"Is this a joke?" I freeze. There was something different about the man I stood before. He looked older, than again I guess he always was. It was his blue eyes of his, they were stone cold. They reminded me of the eyes of so many killers I had faced before. Their eyes showed no set of emotion, unless it was anger. I felt disbelief, "This can't be.." Than rage as my fist coiled and I hit him in the jaw as hard as I could. "How long!" His hand grabbed my wrist tightly, painfully but I did not mind. He threw it to the side for now.

"We don't have time. We have to go."

"Like hell I'm following you, not until you answer my damn-"

"-let's go."He turns to leave but I stay still. He eyes behind him to see that I have not moved. "You're a smart girl E, I know right now you're calculating the time it takes for Bruce to find us up here. Now he does not know I'm alive yet. So if I leave and you stay, he will lock you right back up in Arkham."

"Since when have I been scared of Arkham?" Regardless of my protest I follow him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. If he wanted to move in silence he had another thing coming. I notice the sound of sirens get louder. Lights flashing red and blue grew brighter as if the police cars were getting closer. Could he be setting me up? I pass him on the fire escape, quickly lifting a knife from him. Just in case. Soon my question was answered as we land in an alleyway, across from the GCPD. I glare, shoving him up against the wall. "What sick joke is this? Are you going to arrest me, yell at me for trying to kill Bruce and take everything from him? Because if that's the case you can go straight back to hell."

Jason took a deep breath, annoyed with my childish antics. "I know you don't mean that Em..." He notices how I don't move the knife. I might still like him, but there was no way I am going back to Arkham. "I've seen what you've done, all of it-"

"Than you should know how unstable I am." I quickly retort, thinking this conversation would turn into him lecturing me.

My words appeared to amuse him as he realize what I thought was going on. He started to smirk a little, "Yeah and why might that be?" My face feels red all of a sudden. I felt this horrible feeling most idiots called vulnerable. "And you said you didn't have a heart."

"it was taken from me." I reply, trying to maintain a spread of dignity. I pretend not to notice how I use my Enigma voice in front of him, acting like he did not know. A part of me wanted to show him nothing changed. That I was stubborn just like the Enigma he knew, not the weak one.

A smug look came across his face, ignoring the fact I was threatening him. "I wonder who has it."

I needed a response, something cocky that made sense. My brain rushed, and growling at him the first thing I can think of. "It died with the person who had it."

"I highly doubt that."

"Now why would I lie?"

"Well I think you forgot that I was in attendance at the party." I let him go, not because he was right, but because I wanted to turn away from him. My face felt really hot. Why couldn't he let this go? I never had a heart to give him in the first place. I don't care well, I just got selfishly upset that's all. Jason put his stupid eraser cap back on his head. "You really expect me to believe you didn't do all this for me?"

"I've always hated Bruce."

"Now I know that's true." He walked by my side as I headed down the alleyway, opposite to the police station.

"And it was revenge for locking me up in R.E.D" I feel him following behind me. How could I miss this annoying bastard so much? Quickly, I grow upset. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't need to know."

My voice goes from quiet to yelling in a second as I shove him away from me. "Like Hell I didn't!"

"If you don't have a heart where is all this anger coming?"

"You ruined my plan!" The lie spills from my lips quickly. We both knew that what I said was bullshit.

He gave a small shrug, one look in his eyes I knew he was not telling me something. "Well... technically.."

"Technically what?"

"Who do you think gave you those blueprints, you think just anyone knows Wayne manor like I do?"

"You ass! Why would you give me them and not let me finish."

"Because I need Bruce for something else. And you served as the perfect distraction for my assassination. I knew Bruce would be at the center of it all..just not how. I saved your plan. I saw him going to reveal himself, he was already out of his cuffs so I spoiled nothing."

"That was the whole point of this all! For him to step forward as Batman, I didn't care if he attacked me. I should kill you."

"So you want to kill me for ruining your revenge on the people you think caused my death."

Well when he puts it that way my threat sounds weak and horrible. He was making me so flustered, unfocused, confused. I found it hard to argue. I groan, frustrated with being off my game."Do you know what I've even been through these past few months."

"Actually I do, but do you know what I've?"

Silence. Had he been stalking me? I revert back to my memories trying to remember the times when I felt followed, or noticed something and called myself paranoid. Had Jason been with me the whole time? That felt weird. Weird was the thought that he had heard me, maybe watched me breakdown over who knows how long. I did not know how to respond. Why was I so upset? He was alive and that is all that mattered. I should be less focused about how much he destroyed my plan to get revenge for his death but instead be grateful that he was actually alive. Why wasn't I thrilled?

"Let's go." He broke the silence, "I'll explain everything back at my place. It's across from the GCPD, 7th floor."

Oh so that's why we were going towards the police. I feel a little foolish that I judged him so abruptly. I need to chill.

Moments later we entered what seemed to be a pretty run down apartment if you ask me. I mean what else did you expect from a dead guy? Nonetheless it was night and day from the manor that Jason used to live in. As we entered the room he eyed the closet in the corner of the room for a split second. His pause made me wonder what was inside. Before I could open my mouth to ask, he nudged me.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked, heading over to a small mini fridge that looked like it hardly worked. It creaked as he opened up the tiny, moldy thing. Why didn't he reveal himself sooner? I could have gotten him a better place than this shit. I shake my head. He shrugs, grabbing himself a cold beer from the fridge. Beer? Since when did Jason drink? Well I guess that must be another way dying changed him. He is so different now. I am shocked that I recognized him, if I never saw that dangerous look in his eyes before maybe I would have never of thought...His hair is so much darker, longer, and untame. A white stripe, a bad hairstyling choice if you ask me, ran through his hair. Besides that I could tell that he had been training. Am I complaining? No! He is more dangerous, more deadly, rebellious, stronger, older...alive! This is what I wanted from Jason, right?

"E?"

Shit, I zoned out again. Dammit, He knew that to. It made him looked slightly annoyed. "You know if you have so many questions maybe you should ask them." He teased, or so I think he was teasing, as he crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah.."

I pause for what felt like hours without a word to say. I knew he died. I saw it. Why would he fool me like that? Questions, so many questions filled my head as I looked back into the eyes of Jason.

He killed. I saw it just moments ago, unless this was another form of trickery. Jason killed. Did Bruce know he is alive? Jason said that he did not, but could he be lying? Did Bruce know that he is a killer? Maybe that's why Bruce blamed me. Not for his death, but for teaching his Robin how to let go of morals and kill. He paces back and forth, placing the red helmet on the counter.

"So you're the Red Hood?" I ask, plopping down on the couch beside him. Really, really, is that the best question the Riddler's daughter could come up with? The most basic, obvious question. One that would make anyone, including myself roll their eyes. It was like what a character would ask in a bad sitcom, or fanfiction.

"Yeah."

One worded response. Everyone loves those right? I roll my eyes. "So I was right?" He looks up from his drink confused, therefore I went on to explain myself. "I always new red was your color..." I smirk, it was such a wonderful feeling to be right.

"Did you know?" He sounded uncaring.

I shrug, "I knew you had a little danger in you from when we trained at my place."

"When did we do that?" Back to confused, geez, did I ever get a friendly look?

"You know, that video game we played before you knew I was Enigma, it's one of my training simulations."

"That makes a lot of sense." Jason nods, taking a sip of his drink. "Here I thought you were a violent gamer girl."

I smirk, noticing his arm wrap around my shoulder. Why did none of this feel right? Before I would be so excited Jason was alive, but now I kind of just felt like this was awkward. Maybe it was these gaps of silence that fell on us, or our short conversations, there was so much to talk about but neither of us ever said anything. He seemed less emotional than he was before, or maybe it was because his emotions seems to be in extreme form. Did he secretly think I set him up? No, I am overthinking things, I would be dead if he thought that.

His eyes kept glancing to that closet behind us. That's when I figured it out. What was wrong was that Jason's mind was somewhere else; he was distracted.

The perfect question came to mind, one that I wanted answered right now. "What's in there?" I ask, tilting my head. "Jason?" I repeat his name to gain his attention. He must have been zoned out for it took a tap on his shoulder to bring him back. "Great you're becoming like me." I try to tease, getting no reaction.

He shrugs, placing an empty beer on the table. Wow that was fast. Is it supposed to go away that fast? Maybe he was thirsty?

Jason moved to get another from the fridge. The moment his back was turned I bolted towards the closet door. "So what's in the closet?" Quiet steps, hiding any sound of my movements with my voice as I approached the closet door. I hated not knowing, and the closet was like pandora's box. Maybe it explained how he came back from the dead, or some new 'Red Hood' weapons.

"Just some trash I haven't taken out yet."

That makes me smile.

I am a villain. Trash is code for hostage. Whether Jason knew it or not, he was becoming like me, and the people I knew best; Villains. Trash was code for someone who would die in due time. My father always called his idiotic goons trash whether they tried to sell him out. All of this was exciting. What was Jason's trash.

"Oh okay." I tried to act like I believe him as I turn around to reach the handle. Before I could turn it I am turned around to face Jason. Woah, he moved fast.

"What are you doing?" He growls, pulling me away from the closet door.

"I just wanted to help you with your _trash_." I say, giving him the bullshit he gave me.

"Really E."

"I don't like being lied to. If you don't want my bullshit do not bullshit me Jason."

He ran a hand through his hair, upset. I could tell I was pushing his nerves. Then I heard the last words I was expecting to hear from him. "Get Out."

"What?"

"I can do this alone, it was a mistake to let you know-"

"You did not let me know, I chased after you, forcing you to reveal yourself. If I hadn't stopped you would you ever have made yourself known?" He paused. I saw the look on his face. I was right. He would never of revealed himself to me if I had not tried to kill him, or followed him tonight. A part of me felt really hurt inside. I sigh, my eyes meeting up with his. "I would have died to get revenge for you, yet you didn't even fucking trust me to show me that you were okay and breathing!?" I punch him in the jaw, before pushing past him with a shove.

He took a deep breath, trying to focus on keeping his temper controlled. "E. Stop...come back." He grabbed my arm, trying to keep me here. Why did he need me?

"What?" I take a deep breath, becoming annoyed with Jason. Weird how you can go for mourning someone to being annoyed in a second.

He lets go of my arm. I see a look on his face that makes me think he's contemplating telling me or not. "I have a plan."

I could be considerate and hear him out, but I had no patience for him. All I want to do is go home, wrap up my blood and bruised knees and go to sleep. Then in the morning I would wake up and figure what I am about to do with my life. "I'm not really one to listen."

"I know." He admits, pulling me back inside the apartment despite my motion to leave. "That's why I am giving you two options."

"I am guessing the second is not going to be one that I like."

"Em." Jason takes a deep breath and sighs. "You were right in saying Bruce's methods don't work. It is insanity to repeat the same actions and to expect different results." I grin, liking what I am hearing. He know has my attention again. Maybe this new Jason is not that bad. "That's why I have this plan. I am certain it will clean up Gotham."

"You realize how hard to believe a clean Gotham that sounds."

He nods, "Imagine, if Arkham was not an option."

"I would be dead since I was 7."

"No, I am serious."

"As much as I would love to help, cleaning up Gotham is not my job."

"E."

"In fact I would rather just make a bigger mess of Gotham, just to make this more difficult for you. You know why? Because you never told me you were alive."

"Really E."

"Really."

"Two options.

I roll my eyes, pretending not to notice how serious he was.

"Option 1: You help me. Option 2: You have to force yourself to be normal, and we both know you can't do that..."

Here I am, being threatened out of criminal hood by the person I thought I cared enough to protect. Did he really believe he could control me. Like hell I would listen to his options. I response the only way I knew how, with a snide comment, "What no option 3?"

"You don't want me to add an Option 3." His voice lowers. I catch on. I am not talking to Jason at all, none of this was Jason. This was his new self, the Red Hood. He is not asking for my help, but giving me an ultimatum. My options were help or die basically. That was what he was implying, right?

"Oh..." I lower my head, knowing exactly what he meant by that.

"Emily." His voice soften, finally using a tone that I recognized. "Come on. I know there is good in you. You want to help...I saw earlier you couldn't even kill that brat Tim because his annoying ass was not at fault."

"I can kill!" I feel my face blushed embarrassed. My blood was rushing, making me determined to prove myself to him. I need to prove that I am the same Enigma, insensitive and smart. "What do you want me to do?"

He smirked, seeing that I was on board. Go back to your dad." His words may sound simple, but it was asking a lot from me.

"What?" I gasp, unsure if he was expecting me to laugh at that. Did he really just say what I think he said. "Are you kidding me? Do you know how long it's taken me to get this far away from him? He had a part in your death! I can't prove it but I just know-"

"E.."

"I know it is him! No way in hell am I becoming his little sidekick girl again! I've been doing great on my own, ask anyone!"

"E"

"I mean did you see what I-"

"Emily!"

"What?"

A loud burst of laughter erupted from behind us. It made me jump for it sounded so chilling, cold and psychotic it sounded. The laughter was not like Kane's but sickly similar. The Joker. My eyes widen to notice the sound coming from the closet. My first thought was Jason was in on it all, he was framing me. "What the hell!"

I storm over to the closet, in a burst of anger. Isn't there anyone in this damn town I can trust. In the background I hear Jason protesting, "wait, no..E let me explain."

I pause outside the door, glaring daggers at him. "You're working with the Joker now?! Was this all a big con !" I frown, moving out of his grasp.

"No." He pulls me back with a tight grip on my arm. His grip was painfully tight, like the last time he was upset with me. I shoot him a death glare, knowing he would have to let me go. I will rip his arm from his socket if he dared touch me like that again.

"What? Got tired of being Robin-" I start to rant before he growls in response. His temper was even worse than before.

'Will you just shut up and listen to me! I'm trying to tell you you were right E!"

"Go on."

"I told you! Bruce is just letting the psychopaths move on, isn't doing anything for the streets. Gotham is getting worse, and locking criminals up for a vacation will never help things."

"You're behind the Joker's disappearance." I smirk, peaking in the closet. His loyalty was proven when I noticed Joker bounded and trapped in a chair. The mouth gag on him was chewed open, which was why we were being annoyed with the horrible sound of his laughter.

He nodded, "And a lot of other mob men as well."

"Then, why is he still alive?"

"As I said, I am having a game of my own being played out with Bruce."

"What are you doing?"

"You once told me you were a criminal to get your father's attention. Is that right?"

"Well..."

"You said he was so focused on the Batman that he never gave a damn about you."

"YOUR POINT!" I growl, angry.

"I'm saying what if we never got to that stage. What if there was no Batman.."

"My father and I would be normal I suppose."

"Exactly."

"Batman is too kind. I'm being a better version of Batman, that eliminates the threat."

"Oh that's all, you're just killing criminals..." I frown crossing my arms.

"Yes."

"So are you going to kill me? I'm a criminal."

"No."

"Wow. That's reassuring."

"What I am saying is I'm standing up to Bruce. I want to allow you the same option for the Riddler. That's why I want you to go back to your dad"

"Why?"

"He treats you like shit. Isn't it time you show him you can play the mind games the same way he does? Emily, you're smart enough..."

"You sound like you're conning me Jason. What's the real plan?"

He pauses, noticing how annoyed I am. I don't like the feeling that I can not trust him. I stare at him blankly until he finally decides to fill me in with the truth. "You see, I'm taking over most the mob territory to stop it from harming regular people. I also want to eliminate the rogues territories. The joker will be dead, so I'll have his land, a few other rogues won't be to hard to convince to follow but your father's is always 3 steps ahead of everyone, everyone that is...except you."

"Yeah he's 4 steps ahead of me."

"No. What I want is you to go back to your father. Work with him, gain his trust and then take over his territories."

"You want me to kill him?"

"No. I want you to be a heir, so when Batman goes away and he steps down you can control it."

"I don't know."

"Em can't you see. We have a chance of lowering crime in Gotham...Children don't have to be pulled into crime. "

I pause thinking about it, would my dad see through my lie? Have we ever successfully got passed him. " I don't know..."

His voices changes in a split second, transforming from soft to anger yelling in seconds. "Don't you want revenge! I thought you of all people would understand!" I sigh, unsure if this was right. I still cared for my father. Yes, I wanted to give him hell at times, but a part of me was scared that he would kill my father. A new look was present in his eyes, one that was rather unsettling for me. I mean I had seen the look so many times before in other villains, including myself, but Jason? I thought he was my sanity. Yet here he stood before me, alive yet sounding more crazy then half my plans. However, I could be the one crazy in thinking that Jason's plan was more dangerous than one of mine. I mean I just tried to take on the Bat Family alone, and the Joker...I pause. Well, it's not like my plans to get revenge for Jason would make sense right about now...and maybe his anger is out of having to ask for my help in the first place. Wait, what am I doing? This plan is perfect. I have wanted to out smart my dad for some time now, this was my opportunity. What could go wrong?

"Fine, I'll do it"


	16. Back to Normal

Knowledge is power, my father instilled this lesson to me at a young age. My father, despite his slightly violent games, has never been anything but good to me. I take a deep breath of the cold Gotham air, recounting how the last few weeks have been going. I am not sure I can do what Jason wants, staying by the side of my father through it all. I do not mind assisting with his genius plots, but I love my father too much to betray him. What choice do I have? Jason will kill my dad if he's in the way. A part of me, no, every bone in my body hated the fact I went back to my father. I do not need him. I want him to see what I can do on my own and be impressed with me.

He must think of me as a fool, like Harley Quinn, constantly following the same mistakes of running away and coming back to him. My father said almost nothing to me during my first visit. Not a hello, not a goodbye, nor a where the hell has you been. However, my father is the Riddler after all. He did not leave me with nothing to think about last Friday. Before the door could close his purple-gloved hand lifted, as to say wait a second. My photographic memory recalls his voice, how mysterious and quiet it was as he spoke;

 _Riddle me this; Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown. A simple aspect one will on and on as all is well. Liars eyes behind the sun, how little left is little done._

His blue eyes met mine with something beneath them as if challenging me to find the answer. Confused at how easy the riddle was I smile, my mouth opened to tell him the answer when he put a finger up.

 _Not today._

Not today, the words that have bothering me for weeks. My father did not want me to answer the simplest of riddles. Instead what he did shocked me as he motioned me to the door. There was no punishment for my antics or period of absence. Instead everything moved on as it once did before, before I ran away, before Jason.

Everything was nice, perfect right? I mean I am getting along with my Father, living with my best friend and Kane has not tried to kidnap or kill me. Oh and my dead boyfriend is alive and a killer, I should be thrilled. Yeah, that's the reason I'm sitting on the roof right now, covered in blood right now. I groan as a burst of wind makes me shiver.

"E it's like 2am are you coming inside yet?" Rachel rolls her eyes, her voice making me jump. I can't to say I am used to living with a roommate yet. I look down on the fire escape to see her in her pajamas with a giant red blanket across her shoulders. Her hair up in a messy bun as she was ready to go to bed, or perhaps in bed. "I want to close the window."

"Yeah, I'll be right in." I slip off my apartment roof, down to the window. The cold had frozen the blood of my crimes against my skin. I knew I needed a shower.

One hot shower later and my mind was still elsewhere. I missed the old days. Yes, a teenager can have the 'old days' despite what anyone over the age of 20 claims. I pass my Rachel sitting her bed, eyeing me. I knew she could tell something was wrong. She has known me too long to hide much from.

"Contemplating the meaning of life again?" Rachel teased, sitting down on her bed as I got out of the shower.

"You could say that." I shrug.

"E if you're uncomfortable with it, you really should tell Jason." Rachel said as if she was in my head, maybe she was. I eye her plants suspiciously, wondering if they told her. I mean she claims to understand them, and they're literally everywhere. "It wasn't them." She smirked smugly, knowing she freaked me out by her logic.

"I sound spoiled, the boy I thought I was in love with is exactly what I want, and I'm hiding from him on a roof."

"What why are you hiding from him?"

What was I going to tell her? Without sounding even worse of a girlfriend.

1.)I may have just came back from a kill spree

2.)He found out I told you about him being alive

3.)I'm scared my dad will find out.

4.) Last time I talked to him he had a gun to my head for 10 seconds.

Are all relationships like this? I have so many questions, yet I don't feel like taking any suggestions from her. Miss Oh I am dating a hero who everyone loves, and is smart and everything's okay. Ugh, I am just overtired.

"Really? I am the one who asks the questions." I grumble, throwing on a Legend of Zelda t-shirt to use as a nightgown.

"Sure you do" Rachel smirked, watching as I fall into my bed. "Want my opinion?"

"No." I put a pillow over my head, trying my best to go to sleep. She is never like this, wanting to stay up late. Usually she's in bed by 10. The bed shifts for a second, as I feel her plop down on the end of my bed.

"Well, a little birdie told me more about what went down between the two of you. It sounds like you just liked running around in secret with him, and because he was normal you were convinced that you were normal as well. After you found out he was Robin, it sounded like it was just a big fuck you to Kane and your dad for trying to manipulate you. You like adrenaline E, it's obvious. Kane even told me-"

"You did not tell him Jason's alive right?!" I sit up quickly, heart beating out of my chest. If Kane found out that Jason was alive, he would kill Jason again and make fun of me.

"I'm not stupid, of course not." Rachel shook her head.

"Good...wait when did you see Kane?"

"He came by an hour ago, heard you went back to your old man. He wanted to see if you were hit in the head really hard and lost some memory."

I roll my eyes, "Did he say where he's staying at lately, I doubt the Joker's HQ on the west end is available anymore." I smirk, knowing that that's where all the blood came from.

Rachel shook her head, "Wow I forgot how great you were at changing the topic.

"She's great at that dearie." My eyes widen hearing Jesse's voice. I look up to see a shirtless Kane at the door. His arms crossed as a smug, knowing, smile appeared across his face. My hand reaches under my pillow as I grabbed the knife hidden beneath it. The knife flies through the air, directly at his chest. He drops to the floor in seconds, his quick reflexes sparing his life. My knife stuck straight into the wall.

"What is he doing here!" I growl, sitting straight up in my bed. Jesse eyes me as he stands back up.

"Well, considering ya and Rosie got the house all nice, I decided to move back in, get the trio back together." He took the knife out of the wall so he could lean against it. "Ya know?"

"You really expect me to believe that?" I roll my eyes.

"Yes and because I need a place to stay. My last place got burnt down by a faulty stove. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you riddles?"

"What is he doing here!" I glare at Rachel.

"What?" Rachel bit her lip, noticing my glare. "I told you he came by!" Her voice went quiet, " never said he left."

Jesse looked calm, I do not think he overheard about Jason. He must have been sneaking past our room when he over heard my voice. I doubt he wanted to be anywhere near me after how annoying I've been trying to kill him. What was odd was Jesse did not seem mad at me at all, he seemed calm. Little did he know I knew the location of his so called idol. I eye the markings along the side of his chest, tattoos of card symbols, jokes, and memories. My eyes follow his silhouette upwards, seeing the wet ends of his green curls I predict he had come from the shower. No wonder Rachel was staying up to talk to me, she was trying to distract me. I take a deep breath.

"Oh shhh baby riddles, don't be so uptight. I'm not here to kill you, I didn't like that foolish apartment anyways."

"Whatever, hope your happy."

He laughed darkly, finding amusement at my annoyance. I am sure that this was all to get back at me, why else would he be living with us? "E you think I'm happy? No, no, well maybe." He paused, tapping his chin. "I'm not happy that you're back with your old man but it's better than being depressed over some bratboy and getting yourself killed for it. " It was clear in his voice Jesse still had a strong distaste for Jason.

"Whatever."

 _Ring, Ring_

Rachel's phone breaks the awkward silence. "Convenient." I mutter under my breath as Rachel gives me a look.

"Dickie boy again?" Jesse chuckled, taking free liberty to sit beside me on the bed. Boy, he knew how to push it. Wait, he knew about Grayson? How close were him and Rose that they share secrets? Why did he not care about Rose dating a hero?

Rachel eyes me, as if making sure I won't kill Jesse while she's gone. I roll my eyes,"Go on Juliet."

"I don't have to take this now if you two are going to end up killing each other while I am gone." She repeats in words to make sure there is no misconception.

"We won't." Both me and Jesse replied at the same time.

She did not look trusting at that, staying in the room with her hand over the phone. Little did she know Jesse was smart enough to know exactly how to push her away, make jokes about the one thing that annoyed her about Grayson. "Yes Rosie dear, we know you miss Dick. Go on, have fun with Dick."

"Doesn't she always?" I add, teasingly since Jesse set me up perfectly.

Rachel frowned, not impressed by our jokes. "Ugh you too! It's short for Richard."

"I bet it is short for a Richard." Kane muttered under his breath, making me crack up.

Rachel's face turned so red, "Oh shut it clown!" She stormed off with her phone.

We both start laughing at her reaction, so perfect, serves her right. After a moment I realize I'm looking at Jesse with a smile. A real smile which hasn't shown in weeks. My laughter dies down, followed by his own.

I predict their would be a long pause of silence, then back to fighting with one another. I waited for Jesse's rude comment when I saw his mouth about to open, "Have you ever thought what would have happened if none of us ever left this place"

A serious question like that sounded odd coming from someone like Jesse. I am surprised. I never thought he reminisced about the past, or even cared about anything. Unusual behavior if I do say so myself, I must keep my guard up. "Sometimes." I admit, trying to remain vague. If I sounded to eager then he would make fun of me.

"Yeah." Jesse smiled, his Kane act almost completely gone. He was acting like when I first allied with him. "We all have some great memories here. Do you remember when your thingy majig almost took of my head?" He smirked, eyeing a pile of metal in the corner of my room.

I smirk, "Which time?"

"Umm..the one that fried my hair."

"Yeah but you should have known not to touch my stuff." I smile, " but that's nothing remember when Rachel tried to get us a pet fish."

"Yeah! But that's all on her she said not to kill it, didn't mean we couldn't play," Jesse laughed.

I shake my head, my mind elsewhere as I recall the incident. "But she got so mad when she found it inside our hostage's ear."

"Her face." Jesse laughs, not his scary laugh but a real one. I could still the picture the look on her face, pulling the small goldfish out of our old warden. I chuckle.

I see him looking at me, it's been awhile since we got along like this.

I look down, brushing a piece of my hair back, "Do you miss this?" Why did I ask that? Now he's going to think I'm foolish and-

"Of course I do." His answer surprises me as he nods. I look up to see him smiling. For a moment I could finally recall who Jesse once was, his old personality shining through. I guess it's been awhile since we actually got along, I forgot all three of us used to be friends.

Jesse noticed my silence. The boy did what he always did when he felt awkward in a situation, laugh. For a second I thought this meant he wasn't serious about his answer. Who am I kidding? Jesse is exactly where he wanted to be, why would he miss this. "How'd we get so fucked up?" He laughed, slicking his curly hair back.

Honest and blunt I listed out the obvious answers, "Gotham, my father's meddling, your joker obsession, Arkham, Batman."

"Robin." He added quietly, but I pretended not to notice. Jesse forced his sentence on to cover up what he said, "Hey, want to call a truce and start things back up from when they originally were?"

Jesse says with a small smile, his eyes meeting mine. For once I was not scared. Jesse did not kill me earlier, maybe he would be honest about not killing me now. I am unsure if I even hate him any longer. I hated him for having a part in killing Jason, but he's alive. I notices how I appear hesitant to trust him, "As long as we're in this apartment, we're civil deal."

"I can agree to that."

"It's a truce then." Jesse smiled, looking excited. Then again that boy was always excited and hyper for what was next.

I have a feeling neither of us meant it. It looked like he did but why would it? I for sure did not believe Kane could switch sides so easily. He must be wanting to get close to me for a reason. As they all say,keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I smile, "I think I'm going to sleep Jesse."

He gasped, looking at the clock. His voice changed to sarcasm."First going back to your old man. Second you laughed at my joke, and now going to sleep before 3am. Woah, how hard did you hit your head girlie?" He teased, handing me my knife back. "Your teddy bear madame."

I smirk, placing it back under my pillow. "Hey, you never know who can break through your window in a morning."

Jesse stood up, about to close the door when he paused, "Nighty Night E."

I roll my eyes, pulling a blanket over myself. "Goodnight clownboy."


End file.
